\
THE
HISTORIANS OF SCOTLAND.
VOL. VI.
Edinburgh : Printed by Thomas and Archibald Constable,
FOR
EDMONSTON AND DOUGLAS.
LONDON HAMILTON, ADAMS, AND CO.
CAMBRIDGE MACMILLAN AND CO.
GLASGOW JAMES MACLEHOSK.
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EDMONSTON & DOUGLAS. EDINBURGH.
THE
IISTOBIANS OF SCOTLAND
VOL. VI.
jLife of ^>aittt Columba,
EDINBURGH
\ Xrt
EDMONSTON AND DOUGLAS V/ \<\
1874.
V
of
aint Columba,
FOUNDER OF HY.
WRITTEN BY ADAMNAN,
NINTH ABBOT OF THAT MONASTERY.
EDITED BY
WILLIAM BEEVES, D. D., M. B. I. A.,
RECTOR OF TYXAX, AND CANON OF ARMAGH.
EDINBURGH
EDMONSTON AND DOUGLAS
1874.
4-"] oo
PRELIMINARY NOTICE.
THE Life of St. Columba by Adamnan has always
excited much interest, from the undoubted authenticity
of the Biography, the early period in which it was
compiled, and its connexion with the foundation of
the ecclesiastical establishment at lona, and the intro
duction of Christianity into the north of Scotland ;
but until the appearance, in 1856, of Dr. Reeves's
edition of the Life, its real character, and that of the
establishment at lona, was little understood, and its
history perverted to suit the purposes of a polemical
controversy. The accuracy of learning and the
thorough research displayed in Dr. Reeves's edition
has now placed the subject beyond the reach of con
troversy, and his truly admirable edition is accom
panied by a wealth of illustration almost unrivalled.
His work, however, was printed for the Irish Archaeo
logical Society and for the Bannatyne Club, and is
accessible only to the members of these bodies. It is
viii PRELIMINARY NOTICE.
therefore with much pleasure that the Publishers of
the Series of Scottish Historians are enabled, by Dr.
Reeves's permission, to present this work to the sub
scribers of that Series.
Dr. Reeves has permitted them, in order to adapt
the work more to the general reader, to add an
English translation, and to re-arrange the matter
contained in his learned and exhaustive Notes.
The principal alteration in the latter is to throw
the elaborate Additional Notes added to the Life in
an Appendix into the form of an Introduction, and to
transfer the numerous footnotes from the bottom of
the page to the end of the Latin text.
The Eight Reverend the BISHOP OF BRECHIN has,
at the Publishers' request, kindly superintended the
preparation of the translation, and Mr. W. F. SKENE
is responsible for the re-arrangement of the matter
contained in the Notes.
EDINBURGH, December 1874.
TABLE OF CONTENTS.
I'AGK
PREFACE, . . xix
INTRODUCTION, .... . xxxiii
1. Chronological Summary of St. Columba's Life, . xxxiii
2. Battles with which St. Columba was connected, . xli
3. St. Columba's Churches, xlix
4. St. Columba's Twelve Disciples, .... Ixxi
5. The year of St. Columba's Death, . . . Ixxvi
6. The Relics of St. Columba, . . . Ixxix
7. The Monastery of Hy, c
8. The Topography of Hy, .... cxxvii
9. Chronicle of Hy, . . . . . . cxlvi
TRANSLATION OF THE LIFE OF ST. COLUMBA :—
PREFACE, ... ..... 1
SECOND PREFACE, 2
BOOK I.
OF HIS PROPHETIC REVELATIONS.
CHAPTER I. — A brief narrative of his wonderful Miracles, . 4
CHAPTER II.— Of St. Fintan the Abbot, son of Tailchan,
and how St. Columba prophesied of him, ... 7
CHAPTER III. — His Prophecy regarding Ernene, son of
Crasen, 9
CHAPTER IV. — How he announced beforehand the arrival
of Cainnech, . . . . . . . .10
CHAPTER V. — Of the danger of St. Colman, of the tribe
Mocusailni, made known to St. Columba, . . .11
TABLE OF CONTENTS.
CHAPTER VI.— His Prophecies regarding Cormac, grandson
ofLethan,
CHAPTER VII.— Of the Battles,
CHAPTER VIII.— Of the Kings,
CHAPTER IX. — Of the two boys who died at the end of a
week, according to his word, ....
CHAPTER X. — Of Colca, son of Aid Draigniche, and of a
certain hidden sin of his Mother,
CHAPTER XI. — Prophecy of St. Columba regarding the
sign of the same man's death, .....
CHAPTER XII. — Of Laisran the gardener,
CHAPTER XIII. — How he prophesied of a large Whale,
CHAPTER XIV. — Of a certain Baitan, who sailed with others
to a desert in the ocean, ......
CHAPTER XV. — Of a certain Neman, an unreal penitent,
who afterwards, according to the Saint's word, ate the
flesh of a stolen mare, ......
CHAPTER XVI. — Of that unhappy man who sinned with
his Mother,
CHAPTER XVII. — Of the vowel letter I, which alone was
wanting in the Psalter,
CHAPTER XVIII.— Of the Book which fell into the water-
vessel, .........
CHAPTER XIX. — Of the Inkhorn overturned, .
CHAPTER XX. — Of the arrival of one Aidan, which broke
the fast,
CHAPTER XXI. — Of a poor man who shouted at the Sound
when about to die, .......
CHAPTER XXIL— Of the city of the Roman jurisdiction, on
which fire fell from heaven, .....
CHAPTER XXIII.— Of Laisran, son of Feradach, and how
he tried the monks in their labour, ....
CHAPTER XXIV.— Of Fechna Bine, .
CHAPTER XXV.— Of Cailtan the monk,
TABLE OF CONTENTS. xi
PAGE
CHAPTER XXVI. — Of two Strangers, . . . .24
CHAPTER XXVII. — Of Artbranan, the old man whom he
baptized in the Scian island, . . . . .25
CHAPTER XXVIII.— Of the removal of the Boat across the
loch of Loch-dise, . . . . . . .25
CHAPTER XXIX. — Of Gallan, son of Fachtna, whom the
demons carried off, 26
CHAPTER XXX.— Of Lugud Clodus, ;. . . .28
CHAPTER XXXI.— Of Enan, the son of Gruth, . 29
CHAPTER XXXII. — Of the Priest who was in Treoit, . 29
CHAPTER XXXIII.— Of Ere the robber, . . 30
CHAPTER XXXIV.— Of Cronan the poet, - . . .30
CHAPTER XXXV.— Prophecy of the Saint regarding Eonan,
son of Aid, son of Colca, and Colman the Hound, son of
Ailen, 31
BOOK II.
ON HIS MIRACULOUS POWERS.
CHAPTER I. — Of the Wine which was made from water, . 38
CHAPTER II. — Of the very bitter fruits of a tree changed
into sweet by the blessing of the Saint, . . .39
CHAPTER III. — Of the land which was ploughed and sown
after midsummer, and yielded a ripe harvest in the begin
ning of the month of August, . . . . .39
CHAPTER IV. — On a Pestilential Cloud, and the cure of
those sick from it, . . . . . .40
CHAPTER V. — Of Maugina, a holy virgin, and the healing
of her broken thigh, 41
CHAPTER VI. — Of the healing the diseases of many people
at the Ridge of Cete, by the touch of the hem of his
garment, 42
CHAPTER VII.— Of a lump of salt blessed by the Saint
which could not be consumed by the fire, . . .42
i TABLE OF CONTENTS.
CHAPTER VIII. — Of the volumes of books in the Saint's
handwriting, which could in no way be destroyed by
water, . . . . • • •
CHAPTER IX. — Of water drawn from the hard rock by the
Saint's prayers, .
CHAPTER X. — Of the fountain of water which the Saint
blessed and healed beyond the Dorsal Eidge of Britain, .
CHAPTER XI. — Of the Saint's danger at sea, and the
mighty tempest changed at once into a calm ',by his
prayers, .
CHAPTER XII. — Of another similar peril at sea, and how
Saint Cainnech prayed for him and his companions,
CHAPTER XIII. — Of the Staff of St. Cainnech forgotten in
the harbour, .....
CHAPTER XIV. — Of Baithene and Columban, the son of
Beogna, who asked of the Saint that he would grant
them on the same day a favourable wind, though they
were to sail in different directions, ....
CHAPTER XV. — Of the driving out of a demon that lurked
in a milk-pail, . . .
CHAPTER XVI. — Concerning a vessel which a certain
sorcerer by diabolical art filled with milk taken from a
bull, and how, at the Saint's prayer, that which seemed
to be milk was changed into its own proper nature of
blood,
CHAPTER XVII. — Of Lugne Mocumin, whom the Saint,
by touch of his fingers and prayer, cured of a flow of
blood which frequently poured from his nostrils, .
CHAPTER XVIII. — Of a large salmon found in a river
according to the Saint's word,
CHAPTER XIX. — Of two fishes found, by his prophecy, in
the river which is called Boo,
CHAPTER XX. — Regarding a certain peasant who was called
Nesan the Crooked, . . ...
TABLE OF CONTENTS. xill
PA(JK
CHAPTER XXI. — Of a certain rich and very greedy man,
named Uigen, .... .50
CHAPTERTXXII. — Of Columban, a man of equally humble
condition, whose cattle, when they were few, the holy
man blessed : and after his blessing they increased to the
number of a hundred, . . . . . .51
CHAPTER XXIII.— Of the death of Johan, son of Conall,
on the very day he threw dishonour upon and contemned
the Saint, . . ... . ... . . . . 51
CHAPTER XXIV. — Of the death of one Feradach, a dis
honest man, foretold by the Saint, * .52
CHAPTER XXV. — Concerning another persecutor, whose
name in Latin is Manus Dextera, . . . . 53
CHAPTER XXVI. — Another oppressor of the innocent, who,
in the province of the Lagenians, fell down dead, like
Ananias before Peter, the same moment that he was
terribly reproved by the Saint, . . . . .54
CHAPTER XXVII. — Of the death of a wild boar, which
was caused to fall prostrate at some distance from the
Saint by the sign of the Lord's Cross, . . . .55
CHAPTER XXVIII. — Of an Aquatic Monster which, by his
prayer and the raising of his hand against it, was driven
back and prevented from hurting Lugne, who was swim
ming near it, . . . . . . .55
CHAPTER XXIX. — Of the Reptiles and Serpents of the
louan island, which, from the day the Saint blessed it,
were able to hurt neither man nor beast, . . .56
CHAPTER XXX. — Of the Spear signed by him, which,
though driven with all one's force, could never after
hurt any living creature, . . . . . .57
CHAPTER XXXI. — Of the cure of Diormit when sick, . 57
CHAPTER XXXII. — Of the cure of Finten, the son of Aid,
when at the point of death, . . . . .58
CHAPTER XXXIII. — Of the boy whom the holy man
XIV TABLE OF CONTENTS.
PAGE
raised from the dead, in the name of the Lord Jesus
Christ, in the country of the Picts, . . . *• . 58
CHAPTER XXXIV.— Of his contest with the Druid Broichan
for his detention of a female slave : and of the stone
which the Saint blessed, and which floated in water like
an apple, . .. ... . .* . . .59
CHAPTER XXXV. — Of the manner in which the blessed
man overcame Broichan the Druid, and of the contrary
wind, . . . . . . . ;> . 61
CHAPTER XXXVI. — Of the sudden opening of the door of
the royal fortress of its own accord, . . . .62
CHAPTER XXXVII. — Of a similar unclosing of the Church
of the Field of the Two Streams, . . . . 62
CHAPTER XXXVIII. — Concerning a certain peasant in
poverty, and begging, for whom St. Columba made and
blessed a stake for killing wild beasts, . . . .63
CHAPTER XXXIX. — Concerning a leathern vessel for hold
ing milk which was carried from its place, and brought
back again to land by the tide, . ; . .64
CHAPTER XL. — The Saint's prophecy regarding Libran, of
the Rush-ground, '. . . . < . . .65
CHAPTER XLI. — Of a certain woman who was relieved
in great and extremely difficult pains of childbirth, . 69
CHAPTER XLII. — Of the wife of Lugne the pilot, who
hated him, : . • • - , . . „ ' • . . , . 70
CHAPTER XLIII. — The prophecy of St. Columba regarding
Cormac, the grandson of Lethan, and his voyages, . .71
CHAPTER XLIV. — Of the venerable man's drive in a chariot
without the protection of the proper linch-pins, . .73
CHAPTER XLV. — Of the rain which, after several months
of drought, was poured by God's gift upon the thirsty
ground in honour of the blessed man, . '. .- . 74
CHAPTER XL VI. — A miracle which we are now by God's
favour going to relate, as it happened in our own day, and
TABLE OF CONTENTS. XV
PAGE
before our own eyes. Of the unfavourable winds which,
through the prayers of the venerable man, were changed
into propitious breezes, . .74
CHAPTER XLVIL— Of the Plague, . . . 76
BOOK III.
THE APPARITIONS OF ANGELS.
CHAPTER I. — Of the apparition of angels which were shown
either to others regarding the blessed man, or to him
regarding others, v. . ' :. ... . 78
CHAPTER II. — Of the angel of the Lord who appeared
in dreams to his mother after his conception in the
womb, '. . . . i . ' . . 78
CHAPTER III. — Of the ray of light seen upon the boy's face
as he lay asleep, . . • . . . . . 79
CHAPTER IV. — Of the apparition of holy angels whom St.
Brenden saw accompanying the blessed man through the
plain, . . . ' .•'. . • .79
CHAPTER V. — Of the angel of the Lord whom St. Finnic
saw accompanying the blessed man in his journey, . 80
CHAPTER VI. — Of the angel of the Lord who appeared in
a vision to St. Columba while he remained in Hinba
Island, and was sent to him in order that he might
ordain Aidan king, . . ... . .81
CHAPTER VII. — Of the apparition of angels carrying to
heaven the soul of one Brito, . . . . .82
CHAPTER VIII. — Of the vision of angels vouchsafed to the
same holy man as they were bearing to heaven the soul
of one Diormit, 82
CHAPTER IX. — Of the brave fight of the angels against
the demons, and how they opportunely assisted the Saint
in the same conflict, . . . . . . .83
CHAPTER X. — Of the apparition of angels whom the man
XVI TABLE OF CONTENTS.
PACK
of God saw carrying to heaven the soul of a certain
person, a blacksmith by trade, named Columb, and sur-
named Coilrigin, . . . . . .84
CHAPTER XL — Of a similar vision of angels whom the
blessed man beheld carrying to heaven the soul of a
certain virtuous woman, . . . . . .84
CHAPTER XII. — Of the apparition of holy angels whom St.
Columba beheld meeting in its passage the soul of the
blessed Brenden, the founder of that monastery which
in the Scotic language is called Birra, . . * . .85
CHAPTER XIII. — Of the vision of holy angels who carried
off to heaven the soul of the Bishop St. Columban
Moculoigse, . . . , «. « • .85
CHAPTER XIV. — Of the apparition of angels who came
down to meet the souls of the monks of St. Comgell, . 86
CHAPTER XV. — Of the apparition of angels who came to
meet Emchath's soul, . . . • .. . . .87
CHAPTER XVI.— Of the angel of the Lord that came so
quickly and opportunely to the relief of the brother who
fell from the top of the round monastery in the Oak-
wood Plain, . . . . . » . .87
CHAPTER XVII.— Of the multitude of holy angels that were
seen to come down from heaven to meet the blessed man, 88
CHAPTER XVIII.— Of the pillar of fire seen to burn upon
the Saint's head, . ... . . . 89
CHAPTER XIX. — Of the descent or visit of the Holy Spirit,
which continued upon the venerable man for three whole
days and as many nights, in the same island, . .90
CHAPTER XX. — Of the bright angelic light which Virgnous,
— a youth of good dispositions, and afterwards, under
God, superior of this Church, in which I, though un
worthy, now serve, — saw coming down on St. Columba
in the church, on a winter's night, when the brothers
were at rest in their beds, . . 90
TABLE OF CONTENTS. XV11
PAGE
CHAPTER XXI. — Of another vision of almost equal bril
liancy, . . .91
CHAPTER XXII. — Of another like apparition of divine
light, . .92
CHAPTER XXIII. — Of another apparition of angels given to
the holy man, who saw them coming forth to meet his
holy soul as if about to depart from the body, . . 93 '
CHAPTER XXIV. — Of the departure of our patron, St.
Columba, to the Lord, . .94
TEXT OF THE ( LIFE OF ST. COLUMBA, WITH THE
VARIANT READINGS OF THE DIFFERENT MSS., . .103
NOTES AND ILLUSTRATIONS :—
Notes to Preface, . . . . . .223
Notes to Introduction, V . 224
Notes to the Life, . . . . . . .248
APPENDIX :-
I.— Identification of Localities, . , » . .303
II. — Explanation of Names on the Map of lona, . .329
III. — Chronicon Hyense, . . . . .334
IV. — Notes on the History of the Ruins at lona, . . 342
V. — Records relating to lona from the Vatican, . .353
INDEX, ... . . . 359
MAP OF ION A, to face Title.
PREFACE.
BEFORE St. Columba was long in the grave, it is likely that
some member of the brotherhood set himself to collect his
patron's acts, and to record such events of his life as were
suited to the taste of the day, or were calculated to promote
the veneration of his memory. In furtherance of this design,
he probably turned his attention rather to the marvels than the
sober realities of the Saint's life, and consulted more for the
excitement of admiration in a simple and credulous age, than
for the supply of historical materials to meet the stern demands
of remote posterity. When Adamnan, a century after St.
Columba's death, in compliance with his brethren's urgent re
quest, drew up the memoir which has immortalized both the
subject and the writer, his information was derived, as he him
self states, in part from written, in part from oral, authorities.
In the latter respect, he was quite near enough to the fountain-
head, both in time and place, to draw from authentic sources,
for in his boyhood he had frequent opportunities of conversing
with those who had seen St. Columba, and he was now writing
almost on the very spot where his great predecessor had indited
his last words, and surrounded by objects every one of which
was fresh with the impress of some interesting association. As
regarded his documentary materials, he had before him the
account of Cummene the Fair, whom he cites by name, and
whose entire narrative he has transferred, almost verbatim, into
his own compilation, where it is for the most part incorporated
with the Third Book. He had also another memoir, on the
authority of which he relates an occurrence not recorded in
XX PREFACE.
Cummene's pages. Besides these compositions, which were
written in Latin, there existed in our author's day certain poems
on the praises of Columba, in the Scotic tongue, among which
was probably the celebrated Amhra, or panegyric, which was
written by a contemporary of the Saint. Baithene Mor, who
enjoyed St. Columba's friendship, is said to have commemorated
some particulars of his life, and poems ascribed to Baithene are
more than once referred to by O'Donnell. Metrical composi
tions bearing the name of St. Mura are also cited by the same
compiler, who adduces them as his authority, in part, for the
history of St. Columba's infancy. Thus furnished with record
and tradition, and quickened, moreover, with zeal for the honour
of a kinsman after the flesh, the ninth abbot of Hy became the
biographer of the first, and produced a work, which, though not
ostensibly historical, and professing to treat of an individual, is
" the most authentic voucher now remaining of several other
important particulars of the sacred and civil history of the
Scots and Picts," l and is pronounced by a writer not over-given
to eulogy to be " the most complete piece of such biography that
all Europe can boast of, not only at so early a period, but even
through the whole middle ages."2 Our author is indeed as free
from the defects of hagiology as any ancient writer in this de
partment of literature, but it must ever be subject of regret that
he chose an individual instead of a society as his subject, and
reckoned the history of his Church a secondary consideration
to the reputation of his Patron. If Bede had contented himself
with being the biographer of St. Cuthbert, instead of the histo
rian of England, would he be now par excellence the Venerable ?
If Adamnan had extended to history the style and power of
description which appear in his tract on the Holy Places, with
the experience, the feeling, and the piety, which characterize
his Life of St. Columba, the voice of Christendom would have
borrowed the word from his countryman, and irreversibly have
1 Tnnes, Civil and Eccl. Hist., p. 145.
- Pinkerton, Enquiry, Pref., vol. i. p. xlviii.
PREFACE. XXI
coupled his name with the title of Admirable. Even in the
limited sphere which he chose, he soon acquired, to use a
modern expression, a European celebrity, and the numerous
copies of his writings which are found scattered over the Con
tinent show in what esteem he was held abroad. It was there
fore more rhetorical than just in a late historian of the English
Church, to create a silent sister beside the vocal Lindisfarne,
and state that " splendid as is the fame of lona, the names of
almost all its literary men have perished." x Surely Adamnan
and Cummene are more than names, and if names be wanting,
the Chronicle of Hy is not so barren as to suggest the old
lament —
" Omnes illacrymabiles
Urgentur, ignotique longa
Nocte."
Adamnan's life of St. Columba has obtained due publicity
in print, yet has always appeared in such a form as to render
it more a subject of research than of ordinary study. It was
first printed by Henry Canisius, in the fifth volume of his
Antiqiice Lectiones, on the authority of a manuscript preserved
in the monastery of Windberg in Bavaria. Twenty years
afterwards, Thomas Messingham, an Irish priest, reprinted the
tract from Canisius, in his Florilegium, adding titles to the
chapters, and appending a few marginal glosses, together with
testimonies of Adamnan, at the beginning, and of St. Columba,
at the end, of the Life.
About the same time, Stephen White, a learned Jesuit, a
native of Clonmel, discovered, while in search of Irish manu
scripts on the Continent, a venerable copy of Adamnan in the
Benedictine monastery of Eeichenau, and the transcript which
he made supplied the text of the fourth Life of St. Columba in
Colgan's Trias Thaumaturga, published in 1647. The editor of
the work prefixes numbers to the chapters, which are not in the
original, and errs wherever White has made an omission or
1 Carwithen, Hist, of the Church, v. i. p. 6.
xxn PREFACE.
alteration in the text, but in other respects is remarkably faith
ful. The notes display considerable learning and vast acquaint
ance with the ecclesiastical records of his country, but his
conjectural emendations are often peculiarly unhappy, and his
constant endeavour to find a place in the Irish Calendar for
Adamnan's worthies sometimes tempts him into misspent labour.
Stephen White furnished a copy to the Bollandists also,
from which the text was again printed, in 1698, under the
editorial care of Francis Baert, but in a less faithful form than
the previous one. The editor took many liberties with the
copy, changing the division of the chapters, introducing new
titles, displacing the original ones, and occasionally altering the
text. The notes which he has added are principally from
Colgan, and are neither as rich nor erudite as his materials
might have led one to expect.
The next publication of the Life was the reprint of Canisius's
Lectiones in Basnage's Thesaurus, in the first volume of which
it is reproduced in its earlier defective form.
Lastly, it appeared, in 1789, in Pinkerton's Collection, a work
of much smaller dimensions, and which might have had a wide
circulation but for a whim of the editor, who limited the im
pression to a hundred copies. The text of Adamnan in this
work professes to follow a manuscript preserved in the British
Museum ; but the editor, who made the text of Canisius the
basis of his collation, has very often neglected his professed
exemplar, and fallen in with the old readings of the Windberg,
instead of the British, manuscript. On the whole, the text is
certainly an improvement on that in the Canisian family, but is
greatly inferior to Colgan's, with which the editor seems to have
been unacquainted, for he supplies the deficiency at the com
mencement of the British manuscript from Canisius's meagre
authority, and, when he might have drawn from Colgan's rich
store, he adds a few foot-notes, which do more to prove the
editorial incompetency of the commentator than to illustrate
the text of his author.
PREFACE. xxiii
All who have compared the text of Adamnan as given by
Canisius or his copyists, with that in Colgan, the Bollandists,
or Pinkerton, have observed a great difference in their length.
Ussher noticed the brevity of Canisius's compared with the
Cotton and Keichenau MSS. ; so did Colgan and Pinkerton ;
and Dr. Lanigan has gone so far as to state it to be his opinion
that the shorter text was the genuine production of Adamnan,
and that the longer one owed its difference to a later hand. In
deciding, therefore, between the recensions, the question is one
of abridgment or interpolation. A strong presumption in favour
of the longer text arises from the fact that it is found in the
oldest and most respectable manuscript, as well as in two others
of totally independent authority, one of which professes to follow
a Scotch transcript. To which may be added, that Fordun and
O'Donnell used and received the longer text, as is proved by
their citing passages which do not exist in the shorter. The
style of Adamnan is apparent in these extra portions, and the
arrangement of the chapters in the longer text agrees better
with the character of his other work. This view is confirmed
by the consideration that the shorter text owes its peculiar
character, at least as far as regards the absence of titles and the
fewness of proper names, to an assignable cause, namely, the
convenience of congregational reading, as expressed in St. Bene
dict's Eule : " Ideo omni tempore, sive jejunii sive prandii, mox
ut surrexerint a ccena, sedeant omnes in unum, et legat unus
Collationes, vel Vitas Patrum, aut certe aliquid quod sedificet
audientes " (cap. 42). It is reasonable to suppose that the in
terruption of the narrative by titles, or the encumbering of it
with proper names, would be avoided as opposed to the pur
pose of edification ; hence, considering the longer memoir to
be the genuine one, it is easy to imagine the creation of an
abbreviated text, and this revision becoming the favourite one
for conventual reading.
But the shorter text possesses internal evidence that such a
reduction has taken place. The second Preface declares the
PREFACE.
author's intention to give at the outset of his memoir a summary
of the wonders contained in it, which was to serve as a foretaste
for those whose eagerness to learn something of the Saint would
not wait for the patient perusal of the whole. Now, this promise
is fulfilled in the first chapter of the longer text, but is left un
accomplished in the shorter. Again, the thirty-second chapter of
the First Book (p. 139) places St. Columba "in Scotiensium paulo
superius memorata regione," and then goes on to speak of Trioit,
a place now known as Trevet, in the county of Meath. In the
longer text the chapter but one preceding relates St. Columba's
doings in the Campus Breg, the old name of East Meath, and
thus the reference above mentioned is easy and intelligible.
But in the shorter text, where the said passage also occurs, six
of the antecedent chapters, as given in the longer, are omitted,
and the place which is last mentioned is Skye, and further back,
for several chapters, the scene is laid in Hy. It is evident,
therefore, that the true correlative to supra memorata does not
exist in the shorter text, and, as a necessary consequence, that
it is mutilated. Moreover, as regards the tituli, they form an
integral part of each chapter, for the names which occur in them
are often not repeated, though referred to, in the substance of
the chapter, so that their removal, as in the Bollandist edition,
from their proper places to the beginning of the books, that
they may not break the thread of the story, illustrates the
principle upon which they were entirely omitted in the manu
scripts ; and occasionally renders the insertion of some words
in the text necessary, in order to complete the construction.
Thus, at p. 145, all the copies have supra memorata muni-
tione, but there is no antecedent mention of a munitio except in
the titulus, which speaks De hello in munitione Cethirni, the
absence of which evidently bears witness against the integrity
of the shorter text, and, in the Bollandists, demanded a note of
explanation. The very title of Canisius's manuscript, Incipit
prima Prcefatio Apologiaque Adamnani Abbatis sancti scriptoris,
indicates a later hand ; as the Bollandist editor observes, " quis
PREFACE. XXV
enim seipsuni sanctum vocet ? " Accordingly, in giving the
preference to the Keichenau manuscript, he comes to the con
clusion that the " Windbergense MS. videatur ex hoc desump-
tum, pluribus rebus, tsedio forsitan vocum barbaricarum, vel
librarii incuria, prsetermissis." l
Of the seven manuscripts which furnish the various readings
in the present work, three contain the longer, and four the
shorter text.
These are under the several signatures which are employed
to represent them.
I. Codex A. A MS. of the beginning of the eighth century,
formerly belonging to Eeichenau, but now preserved in the
Public Library of Schaffhausen.
II. Codex B. A vellum MS. of the middle of the fifteenth
century, preserved in the British Museum, Bill. Reg., 8 D. ix.
III. Codex C. The Canisian text, which was published in
1604 " ex Membranis MS., Monasterii Windbergensis in
Bauaria." It belongs to the shorter recension.
IV. Codex D. The second tract (fol. 39 aa to 51 la), in a
large vellum MS. of the thirteenth century, preserved in Primate
Marsh's library, Dublin, vulgarly, though erroneously, called
the Book of Kilkenny, and marked v. 3, 4. Its text is of the
shorter recension.
V. Codex F. A vellum MS. in 4to, Ssec. x., consisting of fifty
leaves. It formerly belonged to the Church of Freisingen,
situate at the junction of the Moosach and Isar, in Bavaria ;
under the number 141, and is now in the Eoyal Library of
Munich, 6341. It is the most respectable MS. of the shorter
recension.
VI. Codex S. A small quarto MS. on vellum, of the early
part of the ninth century, preserved in the library of St. Gall,
No. 555. It consists of eighty-three folios, and contains the
text of the shorter recension.
1 Act. SS. Jim., torn. ii. pp. 190 6, 198 a.
I
XXVI PREFACE.
VII. Codex Cottonianus. This copy of the Life is contained
in a large folio volume, which formerly belonged to Sir Kobert
Cotton, and is now to be found in the British Museum, under
the mark Bill. Cotton. Tiberius, D. Hi. It is a vellum MS. in
double columns, written in a fine large hand of the latter part
of the twelfth century.1
Besides these seven manuscripts, which furnish the various
readings of this edition, there are reported to be in existence
the following : —
1. At Admont, a cathedral town of Styria, in the circle of
Judenburg, and valley of the Enns river, a manuscript Vita 8.
Columbce presbyteri et confessoris, beginning " Sanctus igitur
Columba nobilibus fuerat oriundus natalibus, patrem habens
Fedilmitum filium Fergusa."
2. Heiligenkreutz (Holy Cross), in Austria, is reported as having
a Vita S. Columbce. There are eight places of the name in the
Austrian empire ; but of the two which are in the archduchy
of Austria, this is probably the Cistercian monastery, in the
district of the Vienna forest.
3. Salmansweiler, a Cistercian monastery, one mile from
Ueberliugen, on the north side of the Lake of Constance, is
reported to have Adamannus Abbas de Vita S. Columle con-
4. Tegernsee, a monastery of Bavaria, between the rivers Isar
and Inn, and the lakes of Schlier and Tegern, is said to have j
Vita, Columbi Confessoris ; Saec. xiii. This, however, as well !
as No. 2, may be by Cummene.
5. In the Codex Salmanticensis, belonging to the library of
the Dukes of Burgundy at Brussels, is a fragment of a Life of
St. Columba, differing very little from Adamnan's. Owing to
the loss of several folios, the greater part of this tract is
wanting, and what remains, beginning at iii. 18 of Adam-
1 For an elaborate account of these manuscripts the reader is referred to
Dr. Eeeves's Preface in the original work, pp. xiii-xxxi., from which part of
the Preface this account of the seven MSS. is abridged. — W. F. S.
PREFACE. XXV11
nan, is printed by Colgan as the second part of his Vita
Secunda.
The other Lives of St. Columba are the following : —
I. That by Cummene, already mentioned.
II. The first part of Colgan's Vita Secunda, which he found
in the Salamanca MS., and erroneously supposed to be by
Cumineus. It is a succinct and chronological digest of the
principal recorded events of the Saint's life, and supplies from
, the old Irish Life some particulars not recorded by Adamnan.
III. A Life by John of Tinrnouth, pirated by Capgrave, and
reprinted by Colgan with notes, in the Trias, where it appears
as the Vita Tertia. It is principally compiled from Adamnan,
and ends with the monition : " Est autem sciendum quod
Hibernia proprie Scotorum est patria : antiquitus igitur Scotia
pro Hibernia saepius scribi solet sicut hie in vita sancti Columbe
diligenter intuentibus apparet. Et etiam venerabilis Beda de
gestis Anglorum multis in locis Hiberniam exprimere volens,
Scotiam scripsit."
IV. The office in the Breviary of Aberdeen, containing nine
short lessons, borrowed, in an abridged form, from Adamnan.
V. An abridgment of Adamnan, printed by Benedict Gonon
under the title Vita S. Columbce, sive Columbani, Presbyteri et
Confessoris (qui alius est cb S. Columbano Luxoviensi ablate) ex
ilia prolixa quam scripsit Adamannus abbas Insulce Huensis in
Scotia. It occupies three folio pages, double columns, and is
accompanied by three trifling notulse.
VI. An ancient Irish memoir, frequently referred to in the
following pages as the old Irish Life. It is a composition pro
bably as old as the tenth century, and was originally compiled,
to be read as a discourse on St. Columba's festival, on the text
Exi de terra tua et de cognatione tua, et de domo patris tui, et
vade in terram quam tibi monstravero. This curious relic of
Irish preaching is preserved in four manuscripts : — 1. The
Leabhar Breac, or Speckled Book of Mac Egan, in the library of
the Eoyal Irish Academy (fol. 15 a I). 2. The Book of Lismore
XXV111 PREFACE.
(fol. 49 6 a)} of which the original is in the possession of his
Grace the Duke of Devonshire, and a beautiful copy in the
Koyal Irish Academy. 3. A quarto vellum MS., formerly
belonging to the Highland Society of Scotland, and now
deposited in the Advocates' Library, Edinburgh. It is a thin
fasciculus without covers, probably of the twelfth century, and
written in double columns. The Life begins in fol. 7, and is
continued to the end, namely, 1 4 &. It modernizes all the old
words and constructions of the earlier copies, and subjoins the
account of St. Columba's proceedings at the convention of
Drumceatt, taken from one of the prefaces to the Amhra Cho-
luim-cille. This MS. may be the one of those mentioned by
Martin, circ. 1700 : " The Life of Columbus, written in the Irish
Character, is in the Custody of John Mack Neil, in the Isle of
Barray ; another Copy of it is kept by Mack-Donald of Ben-
lecula." A facsimile of some lines has been engraved in one of
the Highland Society's publications. 4. MS. Eoyal Library,
Paris, Ancien Fond., No. 8175. It forms fol. 53 aa to fol. 56 llt
of a small folio parchment volume found by the Eevolutionary
Commissioners, during the Eepublic, in a private house in Paris,
and by them presented to the library.
This ancient Life, evidently held in great esteem, furnished
O'Donnell with a considerable portion of his narrative, and he
has transferred the whole into his collection. Ussher was ac
quainted with it, as is shown by his reference : " Ut habet
anonymus, qui acta ipsius Hibernico idiomate descripsit ;" but
Colgan does not seem to have been aware of its existence, and
the Irish Life which he cites is always that of O'Donnell.
VII. The latest and much the most copious collection of the
Saint's acts is that by Manus O'Donnell, chief of Tir-Connell,
which professes to be, and is, a chronological digest of all the
existing records concerning the patron of his family. His frame
work consists of Adamnan and the old Irish Life ; into this he
has worked: — 1. The historical allusions found in the volume
of poems ascribed to St. Columba ; 2. The substance of the
PREFACE. XXIX
preface to the Amhra Choluim-cille ; 3. Extracts from the
prefaces to the Latin hymns ascribed to St. Columba, and from
the hymns themselves, as preserved in the Liber Hymnorum ;
4. Some notes from the comments on the Feilire of Aengus ;
5. The matter in the poems on Cormac Ua Liathain ; 6. Passages
from the lives of contemporary saints, especially St. Mochonna,
or Machar, of Aberdeen ; 7. The alleged prophecies of Berchan
of Clonsast ; 8. Some legendary poems on the wanderings of
certain Columbian monks, which far outdo St, Brendan's Navi
gation in wildness of incident. O'Donnell's statement is : " Be
it known to the readers of the Life, that it was buried in oblivion
for a long time, and that there was not to be found but a frag
ment of the book which holy Adamnan compiled of it in Latin,
and another small portion in Irish, compiled by the Irish poets
in a very difficult dialect ; and the remainder in legends scat
tered throughout the old books of Erin." These materials, with
one or two trifling exceptions, all exist at the present day, and
have more or less been consulted for the present work. It
would be quite possible for a good scholar and patient investi
gator, endowed with an inventive wit and a copious style, to
compile from materials existing in the year of grace 1856,1 a
narrative to the full as circumstantial, as diffuse, and as marvel
lous, as that contained in the great volume of O'Donnell, and
much more correct. It would, however, labour under one great
defect, — the Irish would not be as good. When and where this
work was compiled, and at what cost, the following declaration
of the noble author will set forth : " Be it known to the readers
of this Life, that it was Manus, the son of Hugh, son of Hugh
Eoe, son of Mall Garve, son of Torlogh of the Wine, O'Donnell,
that ordered the part of this Life which was in Latin to be put
into Gaelic; and who ordered the part that was in difficult
Gaelic to be modified, so that it might be clear and compre
hensible to every one ; and who gathered and put together the
1 When this Preface was written.— W. F. S.
XXX PREFACE.
parts of it that were scattered through the old books of Erin ;
and who dictated it out of his own mouth, with great labour,
and a great expenditure of time in studying how he should
arrange all its parts in their proper places, as they are left here
in writing by us ; and in love and friendship for his illustrious
Saint, Relative, and Patron, to whom he was devoutly attached.
It was in the castle of Port-na-tri-namad that this Life was
indited, when were fulfilled 12 years, and 20, and 500, and
1000 of the age of the Lord."
This work exists in all its original dimensions, beauty, and
material excellence, in a large folio of vellum, written in double
columns, in a fine bold Irish hand, and is preserved in the
Bodleian Library at Oxford, where it was deposited, together
with the other Irish manuscripts of Mr. Eawlinson, having
previously cost that gentleman, at the sale of the Chandos
collection in 176|-, the formidable sum of twenty-three shil
lings ! Colgan published a copious abstract of this compilation
in Latin, preserving the principal particulars of the narrative,
but omitting the outrageously fabulous portions, as well as
those which were not in accordance with his ecclesiastical feel
ings, and divided the whole into three books, agreeing with the
three chief eras of the Saint's life : — 1 . From his birth to the
battle of Cooldrevny. 2. From that event, as the cause of his
departure from Ireland, to his temporary return to attend the
convention of Drumceatt. 3. From the convention of Drum-
ceatt to his death. This compilation is important as a depository
of all the existing traditions concerning St. Columba, but it
throws no real light on Adamnan, either in solving a difficulty
or identifying a place; and its great prolixity only serves to
show how much superior Adamnan's memoir is to any other
record professing to be an account of the Saint's life ; and, after
all, how little historical matter has been added to that work by
the utmost endeavours of those best qualified to succeed in the
attempt ! To Adamnan is, indeed, owing the historic precision,
and the intelligible operation, which characterize the second
PREFACE. XXxi
stage of the ancient Irish Church. In the absence of his
memoir, the Life of St. Columba would degenerate into the
foggy, unreal species of narrative which belongs to the Lives
of his contemporaries, and we should be entirely in the dark on
many points of discipline and belief, concerning which we have
now a considerable amount of satisfactory information.
Adamnan's memoir is, therefore, to be prized as an inestimable
literary relic of the Irish Church : perhaps, with all its defects,
the most valuable monument of that institution which has
escaped the ravages of time. The editor, at least, felt it to be
so : and has therefore taken great pains, in the midst of many
difficulties and discouragements, to call into his service all the
means of illustration which books, places, and men could
afford.1
BALLYMENA,
November 25th, 1856.
1 The few concluding sentences of this Preface are omitted, as more appro
priate to the origiual edition. — W. F. S.
INTRODUCTION,
i.
ST. COLUMBA was born at Gartan, a wild district in the CHRONO-
county of Donegal, on the very day that St. Buite, the founder g°^^Y
of Monasterboice, departed this life. Thus the 7th of December OF SAINT
is determined for an event, the date of which might otherwise T.?^™BAS
have been unrecorded; and the Irish Calendars, in noticing
it, present at that day the anomaly of a secular commemora
tion. Authorities vary as to the year, ranging from 518 to
523; but calculation from Adamnan's data gives 521 as that
most likely to be the true period.
Fedhlimidh, the father of Columba, belonged to the clan
which occupied, and gave name to, the territory surrounding
Gartan, and was, moreover, a member of the reigning families
of Ireland and British Dalriada. Eithne, the mother of
Columba, was of Leinster extraction, and descended from an
illustrious provincial king. Thus the nobility of two races was
combined in their son, and, no doubt, contributed to the
extended influence which he acquired, when education, piety,
and zeal were superadded to his honourable antecedents.
He was baptized by the presbyter Cruithnechan, under the
name Colum, to which the addition of cille, signifying "of
the church," was subsequently made, in reference to his dili
gent attendance at the church of his youthful sojourn. The
tradition of the country is, that he was baptized at Tulach-
Dubhglaise, now called Temple-Douglas, a place about half-
XXxiv INTRODUCTION.
way between Gartan and Letterkenny, where there is a cemetery {
of considerable extent, containing the roofless walls of a large I
chapel, and, at a short distance on the north-east, within the j
enclosure, a square, elevated space, which appears to have been ;
artificially formed, and to be the spot which in O'Donnell's j
time was coupled with the memory of the Saint.
The place where St. Columba is said to have spent the ;
principal portion of his boyhood was Doire-Eithne, a hamlet in |
the same territory, which afterwards exchanged this name, j
signifying, Eoboretum Eithnece, for Cill-mac-Nenain, in com
memoration, it is supposed, of the " Sons of Enan," whose
mother was one of St. Columba's sisters. The absence of any
mention of this place in the ancient Irish Life, coupled with
the fact that this .parish was the original seat of the O'Donnells,
might suggest the conjecture, that it was introduced into the
biography of the Saint as an expedient of a later age to add
lustre to the chiefs of Tirconnell, by associating the history of
their patron with the origin of their race, were it not that there
is evidence of a very early relation between St. Columba's
family and the place, in the circumstance that the O'Freels,
who were the ancient herenachs of the church lands there,
were descended, not from Dalach, the forefather of the O'Don
nells, but from Eoghan, the brother of St. Columba. The name
Cill-mac-Nenain, also, as explained above, indicates a like
connexion.
The youth Columba, when arrived at sufficient age, left the
scene of his fosterage, and, travelling southwards, came to
Moville, at the head of Strangford Lough, where he became a
pupil of the famous bishop, St. Finnian. Here he was ordained
deacon ; and to the period of his sojourn in this monastery is
referable the anecdote which is told by Adarnnan in the open
ing chapter of the second book.
From Moville, St. Columba proceeded further southwards,
and, arriving in Leinster, placed himself under the instruction
of an aged bard called Gemman. At this stage of the Saint's
INTRODUCTION. XXXV
.
life, he being still a deacon, occurred an incident which
Adamnan records in the course of his narrative (B. n. c. 26).
Leaving Gemman, he entered the monastic seminary of
Clonard, over which St. Finnian, the founder, then presided.
Here St. Columba is said to have been numbered with a class
of students who afterwards attained great celebrity as fathers
of the Irish Church. St. Finnian does not appear to have
been a bishop, and when Columba was subsequently judged
worthy of admission to superior orders, he was sent to Etchen,
the bishop of Clonfad, by whom he was ordained a priest.
According to the Irish memoirs, St. Columba left St. Finnian,
and entered the monastery of Mobhi Clarainech, whose estab
lishment at Glas Naoidhen, now Glasnevin, near Dublin,
consisted of a group of huts or cells, and an oratory, situate on
either bank of the Finglass. Here also are said to have been,
at the same time, SS. Comgall, Ciaran, and Cainnech, who had
been his companions at Clonard. A violent distemper, how
ever, which appeared in the neighbourhood about 544, broke
up the community, and Columba returned to the north. On
his way he crossed the Bior, now called the Moyola water, a
small river which runs into Lough Neagh on the north-west,
and, in doing so, prayed, it is said, that this might be the
northern limit to the spread of the disease. Mobhi died in
545, and in the following year, according to the Annals of
Ulster, the church of Derry was founded by St. Columba, he
being then twenty-five years of age. In 549 his former
teacher, St. Finnian of Clonard, was removed from this life.
About the year 553, he founded the monastery of Durrow,
of which, as his chief institution in Ireland, Bede makes
special mention. We have no means of ascertaining the dates
of his other churches ; and all we can do with any probability
is to allow generally the fifteen years' interval between 546
and 562 for their foundation.
In 561 was fought the battle of Cooldrevny, which is believed
to have been, in a great measure, brought about at St. Columba's
XXXVI INTRODUCTION.
instigation. A synod, which Adamnan states (B. ill. c. 4) was
assembled to excommunicate St. Columba, met at Teltown, in
Meath, probably at the instance of the sovereign who was
worsted in the battle; for Teltown was in the heart of his
patrimonial territory, and was one of his royal seats. The
assembly, however, was not unanimous, and St. Brendan of Birr
protested against the sentence. St. Finnian of Moville, also,
soon after testified his sense of veneration for the accused, who
had been once his pupil (B. m. c. 5).
Whether the censure which was expressed against St.
Columba by the majority of the clergy had, or could have had,
any influence on his after course, is difficult to determine.
Irish accounts say that St. Molaisi of Devenish, or of Inish-
murry, was the arbiter of his future lot, who imposed upon him
the penance of perpetual exile from his native country. But
this seems to be a legendary creation of a later age, when
missionary enterprise was less characteristic of Irish ecclesi
astics than in St. Columba's day. In removing to Hy, he did
no more than Donnan, Maelrubha, and Moluoc voluntarily
performed, and Cainnech wished to do. Scotland was then a
wide field for clerical exertion, and St. Columba's permanent
establishment in one of its outposts, within a day's sail of his
native province, entailed very little more self-denial than was
required for the repeated and, perhaps, protracted visits of St.
Finbar, St. Comgall, St. Brendan, the two Fillans, St. Eonan,
St. Flannan, and many others. It was a more decided, and
therefore a more successful course than theirs; but it was
equally voluntary : at least, there is high authority for sup
posing it to have been such. " Pro Christo peregrinari volens,
enavigavit," the common formula of missionary enterprise, is
Adamnan's statement of his motive (Pref. 2) : with which Bede's
expression, " ex quo ipse prsedicaturus abiit " (Hist. EC. iii. 4),
is in perfect keeping. That he returned more than once, and
took an active part in civil and religious transactions, is demon
strable from Adamnan. How much oftener he revisited Ireland
INTRODUCTION. XXXV11
is not recorded ; but these two instances are quite sufficient to
disprove the perpetuity of his retirement. That he was not
banished by secular influence is clear even from the legend which
represents his dismissal as an ecclesiastical penalty. Early in
the next century, St. Carthach, or Mochuda, was driven by the
secular arm from his flourishing monastery of Kahen ; but then
he only changed his province, and established himself at Lismore.
In doing so, however, he took his fraternity with him, and gave
up all connexion with Eahen. But St. Columba, when he
departed, severed no ties, surrendered no jurisdiction ; his con
gregations remained in their various settlements, still subject
to his authority, and he took with him no more than the pre
scriptive attendance of a missionary leader.
Durrow, his principal Irish monastery, lay close to the terri
tory of the prince whose displeasure he is supposed to have in
curred, yet it remained undisturbed ; and when, at a later time,
he revisited Ireland to adjust the affairs of this house, it seemed
a fitting occasion for him to traverse Meath, and visit Clonmac-
nois, the chief foundation of his alleged persecutor, and the
religious centre of his family. Surely, if the Northern Hy Neill
had defeated King Diarmait, they could easily have sheltered
their kinsman.
In 563, St. Columba, now in his forty- second year, passed
over with twelve attendants to the west of Scotland, possibly
on the invitation of the provincial king, to whom he was allied
by blood. Adamnan relates some particulars of an interview
which they had this same year (B. i. c. 7) ; and the Irish Annals
record the donation of Hy, as the result of King Conall's approval.
At this time the island of Hy seems to have been on the con
fines of the Pictish and Scotic jurisdiction, so that while its
tenure was in a measure subject to the consent of either people,
it formed a most convenient centre for religious intercourse with
both. The Scots were already Christians in name ; the Picts
were not. Hence the conversion of the latter formed a grand
project for the exercise of missionary exertion, and St. Columba
xxxvm INTRODUCTION.
at once applied himself to the task. He visited the king at his
fortress ; and having surmounted the difficulties which at first
lay in his way, he won his esteem, overcame the opposition of
his ministers, and eventually succeeded in planting Christianity
on a permanent footing in their province. The possession of
Hy was formally granted, or substantially confirmed, by this
sovereign also ; and the combined consent to the occupation of
it by St. Columba seems to have materially contributed to its
stability as a monastic institution. St. Columba afterwards
paid several visits to the king, whose friendship and co-opera
tion continued unchanged till his death.
In 573, St. Brendan, of Birr, the friend and admirer of St.
Columba, died, and a festival was instituted at Hy by St.
Columba in commemoration of his day.
Of the places where St. Columba founded churches in Scotland,
Adamnan has preserved some names, as Etliica insula, Elena,
Himla, Scia, but he has given no dates, so that their origin
must be collectively referred to the period of thirty-four years,
ending in 597, during which the Saint was an insulanus miles.
Conall, the lord of Dalriada, died in 574, whereupon his cousin,
Aidan, assumed the sovereignty, and was formally inaugurated
by St. Columba in the monastery of Hy. Next year they both
attended the convention of Druinceatt, where the claims of the
Irish king to the homage of British Dalriada were abandoned,
and the independence of that province declared.
St. Brendan, of Clonfert, who had been a frequent visitor of
the western isles, and on one occasion had been a guest of St.
Columba in Himba, died in 577; and St. Finnian of Moville,
also one of our Saint's preceptors, was removed by death in 579.
About the same time a question arose between St. Columba and
St. Comgall, concerning a church in the neighbourhood of Cole-
raine, which was taken up by their respective races, and engaged
them in sanguinary strife. In 587 another battle was fought,
namely, at Cuilfedha, near Clonard, in which engagement also
St. Columba is said to have been an interested party.
INTRODUCTION. XXXIX
In judging of the martial propensities of St. Columba, it will
always be necessary to bear in mind the complexion of the
times in which he was born, and the peculiar condition of
society in his day, which required even women to enter
battle, and justified ecclesiastics in the occasional exercise of
warfare. Moreover, if we may judge from the biographical
records which have descended to us, primitive Irish ecclesiastics,
and especially the superior class, commonly known as saints,
were very impatient of contradiction, and very resentful of
injury. Excommunication, fasting against, and cursing, were
1 in frequent employment, and inanimate, as well as animate
objects, are represented as the subjects of their maledictions.
St. Columba, who seems to have inherited the high bearing of
his race, was not disposed to receive injuries, or even affronts,
in silence. Adamnan relates how he pursued a plunderer with
curses, following the retiring boat into the sea, until the water
! reached to his knees. We have an account also of his cursing
a miser who neglected to extend hospitality to him. [ On another
occasion, in Himba, he excommunicated some plunderers of the
church ; and one of them afterwards perished in combat, being
transfixed by a spear which was discharged in St. Columba's
name. Possibly some current stories of the Saint's imperious
and vindictive temper may have suggested to Venerable Bede
the qualified approbation " qualiscumque fuerit ipse, nos hoc de
illo certum tenemus, quia reliquit successores magna continentia
ac divino amore regularique institutione insignes." 1 With the
profound respect in which his memory was held, there seems
to have been always associated a considerable degree of awe.
Hence, perhaps, the repulsive form in which he was supposed to
have presented himself to Alexander n. in 1249. Fordun (Bower)
tells a story of some English pirates, who stripped the church of
uEmonia or Inchcolum, and on their return, being upset, went
down like lead to the bottom ; upon which he observes : " Qua
1 Beda, Hist. Eccl., iii. 4.
xl INTRODUCTION.
de re versum est in Anglia proverbium ; Sanctum viz. Colum-
bam in suos malefactores vindicem fore satis et ultorem. Et
ideo, ut non reticeam quid de eo dicatur, apud eos vulgariter
Sanct Quhalme nuncupatur." x
St. Columba visited Ireland subsequently to June 585, and
from Durrow proceeded westwards to Clonmacnois, where he
was received with the warmest tokens of affection and respect.
In 593 he seems to have been visited with sickness, and to
have been brought near death. Such, at least, may be supposed
to be the moral of his alleged declaration concerning the angels
who were sent to conduct his soul to paradise, and whose ser
vices were postponed for four years. At length, however, the
day came, and just after midnight, between Saturday the 8th,
and Sunday the 9th of June, in the year 597, while on his knees at
the altar, without ache or struggle, his spirit gently took its flight.
Of his various qualities, both mental and bodily, Adamnan
gives a brief but expressive summary. Writing was an employ
ment to which he was much devoted. Adamnan makes special
mention of books written by his hand; but from the way in
which they are introduced, one would be disposed to conclude
that the exercise consisted in transcription rather than composi
tion. Three Latin hymns of considerable beauty are attributed
to him, and in the ancient Liber Hymnorum, where they are
preserved, each is accompanied by a preface describing the
occasion on which it was written. His alleged Irish composi
tions are also poems : some specimens of which will be found
in the original edition, pp. 264-277, 285-289. There are also
in print his " Farewel to Aran," a poem of twenty-two stanzas;2
and another poem of seventeen stanzas, which he is supposed to
have written on the occasion of his flight from King Diarmait.3
Besides these, there is a collection of some fifteen poems, bearing
his name, in one of the O'Clery MSS. preserved in the Burgundian
1 Scotichron., xiii. 37.
2 Transactions of the Gaelic Society, pp. 180-189.
3 Misc. Ir. Ar. Soc., pp. 3-15.
INTRODUCTION. xli
Library at Brussels. But much the largest collection is contained
in an oblong manuscript of the Bodleian library at Oxford, Laud
615, which embraces everything in the shape of poem or fragment
that could be called Columba's, which industry was able to scrape
together at the middle of the sixteenth century. Many of the
poems are ancient, but in the whole collection there is probably
not one of Columcille's composition. Among them are his
alleged prophecies, the genuineness of which even Colgan called
in question. Copies of some of these compositions have been
preserved in Ireland, and from a modernized, interpolated, and
often garbled version of them, a collection of " the Prophecies
of St. Columbkille" has been lately published in Dublin (in 1856).
But it is to be regretted that the editor, not content with
medieval forgeries, has lent his name, and, what is worse, has
degraded that of St. Columba, to the propagation of a silly
imposture, which does not possess even an antiquity of ten
years to take off the gloss of its barefaced pretensions.
II.
The belief was current among the Irish at a very early BATTLES
period, that the withdrawal of St. Columba to Britain was a SAINT
sort of penance, which was, with his own consent, imposed COLUMBA
upon him in consequence of his having fomented domestic CONNECTED
feuds that resulted in sanguinary engagements. And the
opinion derives considerable support, at least as regards the
battle of Cul-dreimhne, from the mention of it by Adamnan,
who in two instances makes it a kind of Hegira in the Saint's
life. The following narrative from Keating's History affords
the simplest statement of the prevalent belief : —
" Now this is the cause why Molaise sentenced Columcille to go
into Alba, because it came of him to occasion three battles in Erin,
viz., the battle of Cul Dreimhne, the battle of Eathan, and the
battle of Cuil Feadha. The cause of the battle of Cul Feadha,
according to the old book called the Leabar Uidhre of Ciaran,
Diarmuid, son of Fergus Cerrbhoil, king of Ireland, made the Feast
of Tara, and a noble man was killed at that feast by Curnan, son of
xlii INTRODUCTION.
Aodh, son of Eochuidh Tiorm-carna ; wherefore Diarmuid killed
him in revenge for that, because he committed murder at the feast
of Tara, against law and the sanctuary of the feast ; and before Cur-
nan was put to death he fled to the protection of Columcille, and
notwithstanding the protection of Columcille he was killed by
Diarmuid. And from that it arose that Columcille mustered the
Clanna Neill of the North, because his own protection and the
protection of the sons of Earc was violated : whereupon the battle
of Cuile Dreimhne was gained over Diarmuid and over the Con-
naghtmen, so that they were defeated through the prayer of
Columcille.
" The Black Book of Molaga assigns another cause why the
battle of Cul Dreimhne was fought, viz., in consequence of the false
judgment which Diarmuid gave against Columcille when he wrote
the gospel out of the book of Finnian without his knowledge.
Finnian said that it was to himself belonged the son-book [copy]
which was written from his book, and they both selected Diar
muid as judge between them. This is the decision that Diarmuid
made : that to every book belongs its son-book [copy], as to every
cow belongs her calf. So that this is one of the two causes why
the battle of Cuile Dreimhne was fought.
" This was the cause which brought Columcille to be induced to
fight the battle of Cuil Rathan against the Dal n-Araidhe, and
against the Ultonians, viz., in consequence of the controversy that
took place between Colum and Comgall, because they took part
against Colum in that controversy.
" This was the cause that occasioned the fighting of the battle
of Cuil Feadha against Colman Mac Diarmada, viz., in revenge for
his having been outraged in the case of Baodan, son of Ninneadh
(king of Erin), who was killed by Cuimin, son of Colman, at Leim-
an-eich, in violation of the sanctuary of Colum." l
The book which St. Columba is supposed to have transcribed
from St. Finnian's original is not a manuscript of the Gospels,
as stated in the above extract, but the copy of the Psalms,
which forms, with its silver case, the ancient reliquary called
the Cathach, of which O'Donnell gives us this curious account :
" Now The CatJiach is the name of the book on account of which
the battle was fought, and it is the chief relic of Colum-cille in the
territory of Cinel Conaill Gulban ; and it is covered with silver
under gold ; and it is not lawful to open it ; and if it be sent
1 For the original Irish of this and other passages given in the translation
only, see Dr. Reeves's Additional Notes to the original Edition. — W. F. S.
INTRODUCTION. xliii
thrice, right-wise, around the army of the Cinell Conaill, when
they are going to battle, they will return safe with victory : and it
is on the breast of a cowarb or a cleric, who is to the best of his
power free from mortal sin, that the Cathach should be, when
brought round the army."
The record of the battle in the Annals of the Four Masters,
at the year 555, is as follows : —
" The seventeenth year of Diarmaid. The battle of Cul-Dreimhne
was gained against Diarmaid, son of Cearbhall, by Fearghus and
Domhnall, the two sons of Muircheartach, son of Earca ; by Ain-
mire, son of Sedna ; and by Nainnidh, son of Duach ; and by Aedh,
son of Eochaidh Tirmcharna, king of Connaught. It was in re
venge of the killing of Curnan, son of Aedh, son of Eochaidh Tirm
charna, while under the protection of Colum-cille, that the Clanna
Neill of the North and the Connaughtmen gave this battle of Cul-
Dreimhne to King Diarmaid ; and also on account of the false
sentence which Diarmaid passed against Colum-cille about a book
of Finnen, which Colum had transcribed without the knowledge of
Finnen, when they left it to the award of Diarmaid, who pro
nounced the celebrated decision, To every cow belongs its calf" etc.
It is to be observed that the Annals both of Tighernach and
Ulster attribute the success of the Northerns to St. Columba's
intercession : per orationem Cohdm-cille dicentis, etc., while
the Four Masters, with their usual caution, merely state that
Colam cille do raidh, " Colum-cille said," adding, from Tigher
nach, the verses which were supposed to have produced so
marvellous a result.
Diarmait, who was now on the throne, was the head of the
Southern branch of the Hy-Neill race ; and the chiefs of the
two main sections of the Northern branch, namely, the Cinel
Eoghain and Cinel Conaill, had already distinguished them
selves by military enterprise, for in 543 the very same indi
viduals won the battle of Sligo, and slew Eoghan Beul, king of
Connaught; and again, in 549, the Cinel-Eoghain brothers slew
Ailill Inbanna, the succeeding king of Connaught, at the battle
of Cuil-Conaire in Carra, in the county of Mayo. They now
espoused the cause of the Connacian chief, and it may be that
some affront offered to their kinsman Columba, seconded by
his instigation, produced the battle of Cul-Dreimhne, which,
xliv INTRODUCTION.
like that of Sligo, was fought on Connacian ground, but near
the boundary between it and Ulster. The relation of the
parties who engaged in this strife will be most readily under
stood from the following genealogical view : —
EOCHAIDH MUIGHMEADHOIN
NIALL NAOIGHIALLACH
1
BR
DUACH
EOGHAI*
.IMIDH MUIRI
AN
lALLACB
SRIABH
:DHACH
GUS
RMCHARN
554.
CONALL CRIMTHANN
FERGUS CERRBHAL
EOG
ob. *•
MUIRE:
mar. tc
HAN MUIRC
Mac
assa?
:AN DOMHJ
587. ob. 5(
INK
622.
HAN
165.
5HACH
Erca.
3RTACH SEl
, Erca
s. 534.
CONALL GULBAN
slain 464.
FERGUS or DUACH
DlARMAIT iLLAl
assass. 565.
COLMAN BEG LIBI
slain 587. slain
CUMINE CUM
slain
)NA NlNl
flor
riDH FEDHI
563.
ALL FERGUS AINMIRE BAEDAN COLUMBA FER
56. slain 569. slain 586.
'AEDH EOCHAIDH Ti
slain 598. ob.
AEDH
slain 577.
CURNA.N
slain a boy, 560.
The promoter of this sanguinary contest became now, according
to O'Donnell's authorities, the subject of ecclesiastical censure :
" Post hsec in Synodo sanctorum Hiberniae gravis querela contra
Sanctum Columbam, tanquam authorem tarn multi sanguinis effusi,
instituta est. Unde communi decreto censuerunt ipsum debere tot
animas, a gentilitate conversas, Christo lucrari, quot in isto praelio
interierunt."1
This sentence was the result, it is stated, of a decision, " ut
factum suum temeritatis speciem praferens, solemni pcenitentia
ad S. Molassii arbitrium expiaret." This arbitrator was St.
Molash of Daimh-inis (now Devenish), whose sentence is thus
given in his Life :
" Sanctus vero Columba visitavit S. Lasrianum confessorem suum
post bellum de Culdremne, petens ab eo salubre consilium ; quo
scilicet modo post necem multorum occisorum, benevolentiam Dei
ac remissionem peccatorum obtinere mereretur. Beatus igitur
Lasrianus divinarum scripturarum scrutator, imperavit ut tot
animas a poenis liberaret, quot ammarum causa perditionis exti-
terat ; et cum hoc ei praecepit, ut perpetuo moraretur extra Hiber-
niam in exilio." — c. 28.2
1 Colgan, Acta SS., p. fi45. 2 Colgan, Tr. Th., p. 410 a.
INTRODUCTION. xlv
The remorse of St. Columba for the expenditure of human
life in the battle is thus expressed in the Life of St. Abban : —
"Alio quoque tempore S. Columba cum pluribus discipulis
venit ad sanctum Patrem : qui, cum devotione magna ab eo
susciperetur, dixit ei ; Ideo nunc ad te venimus, ut ores pro ani-
mabus illorum, qui occisi fuerunt in bello commisso, nuper nobis
suadentibus causa Ecclesise. Scimus enim quod per tuam inter-
cessionem Dei misericordiam consequentur. Rogamus etiam, quod
ab Angelo, qui tecum quotidie loquitur, quseras super hoc Dei
voluntatem. Cumque sanctus senior instantius ab eis pulsaretur,
respondit ; propitius sit eis Deus, et ego libenter pro eis orabo.
Accessit igitur vir sanctus ad secretum locum, in quo consueverat
Deum orare, et Angelum Dei videre, et audire. Ubi cum se toto
conamine in oratione dedisset, S. Columba volens sanctum Patrem
orantem videre, et audire quid Angelus ei loqueretur, post eum
abiit, callide observando. Cum igitur S. Abbanus sic orasset, ecce
Angelus Domini dicit ei ; Sufficit Abbane quod fecisti, quia Deus
tibi petitionem tuam donavit. Qui respondit ; tantum nunc petivi
a Domino requiem animabus illis, quarum curam habet S. Columba.
Et Angelus ait ; Requiem habebunt."1
But Columba himself, according to O'Donnell, declared his
determination to become a voluntary exile, accusing himself
for the disastrous consequences not only of Culdremhne, but
also of two other battles which had been caused by his means.
He is represented as saying to his kinsmen, —
" Mihi, juxta quod ab Angelo prsemonitus sum, ex Hibernia
migrandum est, et dum vixero exulandum, quod mei causa plurimi
per vos extincti sint, turn in hoc ultimo prselio ; turn etiam in
prseliis de Cuilfedha et Cuilrathain olim initis : in quorum altero
Colmanum Magnum filium Diermitii, cujus films Cumineus Boeta-
num filium Ninnedii, Hibernise Regem, mea protectione innixum
in loco qui Leim-aneich dicitur, interemerat ; fudistis : in altero
Fiacnium filium Boadani, suosque confcederatos nepotes Roderici." 2
Of the other battles here spoken of, mention has been already
made in the extract from Keating ; but the fullest notice is
that contained in the argument of the hymn beginning Altus
Prosator, which is attributed to St. Columba, and which is said
to have been composed as a religious exercise after his trans-
1 Colgan, Acta S3., p. 624. » Colgan, Tr. Th., p. 409 b.
xlvi INTliODUCTIOX.
" * Causa quare voluit Deum laudare/ i.e. to beseech forgiveness
for the three battles which he had caused in Erin, viz., the battle
of Cul-Eathain, between him and Comgall, contending for a church,
viz., Eoss-Torathair ; and the battle of Bealachfheda of the weir of
Clonard ; and the battle of Cul-Dremhne in Connacht : and it was
against Diarmait mac Cerball he fought them both."
As the battle of Cul-Dremhne arose in part from a religious
dispute with St. Finnian, so that of Cul-Eathain or Coleraine is
described as the result of a quarrel with St. Comgall of Bangor.
The modem name of Eos-Torathair is not known, but the place
was somewhere near Coleraine ; and it is very possible that
some collision did take place between the saints about jurisdic
tion, as St. Comgall's abbey church of Camus was situate close
to Coleraine, and St. Columba is recorded to have been occa
sionally in that neighbourhood. Besides, the territory west of
Coleraine was the debateable ground between the Dal-Araidhe,
St. Comgall's kinsmen, and the Hy-Neill of St. Columba's
tribe. Fiachna, son of Baedan, with his men of the Clanna-
Eudhraighe, are described as the belligerents on the Dalaradian
side. Now this Fiachna was lord of Dalaradia, and is spoken
of in the Life of Comgall as residing at Eath-mor in Moylinny,
and a devoted friend of the Saint. He was an enterprising
chief, and in 573 won the battle of Tola in the King's County.
In 589 he became king of Uladh ; and in 594 won the battle of
Edan-mor from the Ciannachta of Meath. In 597 he won the
battle of Sliabh Cua in Waterford ; and in 602 that of Cuil-caol
in Down. In 623 he took Eath-Guala in Uladh; and fell at
the battle of Leth-Midhin in 626. Now, supposing that he had
taken part in the battle of Cul-rathain before St. Columba's de
parture, that is, the year 563, a period of 63 [years] would have
intervened between that and his last achievement, a suspicious
interval in a warrior's life. That the battle of Cul-rathain,
though not recorded in the Annals, was fought, — that he was a
leader therein, — and that it took place in consequence of the
jealousies of the Dalaradians and the Hy Neill, quickened into
action by the influence of their respective arch-ecclesiastics, is
INTRODUCTION. xlvii
extremely probable : only it was a military event which fol
lowed, not preceded, St. Columba's settlement in Hy.
The third battle, that of Cul-fedha or Bealach-fedha, was
fought in 587, and is thus recorded by Tighernach : —
" Battle of Bealach Dathi, in quo cecidit Colman Beg, son of
Diarmaid, ut alii dicunt, csesis v. millibus per prophetiam of Colam
cille. Aedh, son of Ainmire, was victor. Unde dictum est :
Broken was, as has been told,
For Colum's sake in the famous battle,
The bestower of jewels by liberal distribution,
By the Conallians and Eugenians."
This battle, as well as that of Cul-Dremhne, was between the
Northern and Southern branches of the Hy Neill. It was
fought by Aedh, son of Ainmire, to avenge the death of Baedan,
; son of Mnnidh, monarch of Ireland, who had been slain by
Cumine, son of Colman Beg, and his second cousin Cumine, son
of Libran, at Leim-in-eich, under the instigation of Colman Beg.
How far St. Columba participated in this transaction is not
recorded, but that he was deeply interested in it appears evident
| from the words of Tighernach, a sentiment which the Four
Masters studiously suppress. The relation which existed
| between the leaders in this battle, and between them and St.
; Columba, will be seen at a glance in the genealogical table
above.
Thus we find St. Columba directly or indirectly concerned
in three battles, the earliest of which occurred the year but one
before his retirement to Britain, and the others at later periods,
one of them after he had been twenty-four years in the abbacy
of Hy. The first his biographers and panegyrists acknowledge
to have been the grand error of his life, for which he paid the
penalty of pilgrimage ; but to save his character after he became
the apostle of the Northern Picts, and the religious exemplar of
the Albanian Scots, the device is resorted to of antedating the
other occurrences in which the failing of his nature betrayed
itself ; and whereas his participation in these evils could not be
xlviii INTRODUCTION.
denied, it was thrust back into the irresponsible part of his life,
rather than allow it to be numbered among the acts of his
maturity. That Columba, closely allied to the principals in
these deeds of strife, and within one step himself of the object
they were contending for, should look on with indifference, is
not to be expected, — especially in an age of revolution, and
among a people whose constitution and national construction
rendered civil faction almost inseparable from their existence.
It was not until 804, that the monastic communities of Ireland
were formally exempted from military service; and the en
deavours of Fothadh the Canonist, in procuring this enactment
from Aedh Oirdnidhe, the monarch of Ireland, form the subject
of panegyric and special mention in the Annals. That, even
among themselves, the members of powerful communities were
not insensible to the spirit of faction, appears from numerous
entries in the ancient Annals. Of these, two — of which one
relates to a Columbian house — may here be adduced as exam
ples : A.D. 673, " A battle was fought at Argamoyn between the
fraternities of Clonmacnois and Durrow, where Dermod Duff,
son of Donnell, was killed, and Diglac, son of Dubliss, with 200
men of the fraternity of Durrow. Bresal, son of Murchadh,
with the fraternity of Clonmacnois, was victor." A.D. 816, "A
battle was fought by Cathal, son of Dunlang, and the fraternity
of Tigh-Munna [Taghmon] against the fraternity of Ferns, in
which 400 were slain. Maelduin, son of Cennfaeladh, abbot of
Kaphoe, of the fraternity of Colum-cille, was slain. The fra
ternity of Colum-cille went to Tara to curse [king] Aedh." The
same principle which caused St. Columba's panegyrists to repre
sent his battles as delinquencies of his youth, operated with
the Four Masters, when compiling their comprehensive Annals
from earlier authorities, in dealing with these oft-recurring
monastic encounters, and as there was no opening for a transfer
of the blame, they suppressed the mention of them.
INTRODUCTION. xllX
III
In the second Preface St. Columba is styled " monasteriorum SAINT
pater et fundator," in reference to the numerous churches which CHURCHES'
were founded, either by his disciples or by himself directly.
Again, in ii. 47 (p. 191), mention is made of his "monasteriaintra
utrorumque populorum [sc. Pictorum et Scotorum Britannise]
terminos fundata." In the old Irish Life the number of his
churches is stated as very great, Tri ced do roraind cen mannair,
"three hundred he marked out, without defect;" an amount
which, even after the most liberal allowances for poetry, round
numbers, and panegyric, will leave a very considerable residuum.
<* The following is a catalogue of Irish churches, either which
were founded; by him, or in which his memory was specially
venerated ; but it by no means pretends to be a complete
enumeration : —
1 . DURROW. — Anciently Eos grencha. It is called in Adamnan
by its Irish name Dair-mag, but more frequently by a Latin
equivalent, Roboreti Campus, Rdboris Campus, Roboreus Campus.
For the history of its foundation, see Orig. Ed., p. 23, Note b. It
was among the earliest and most important, but not the most en
during, of St. Columba's foundations in Ireland. The old Irish
Life calls it redes, " abbey church," and mentions the name of
Colman Mor, the second son of King Diarmait, in connexion with
it. A sculptured cross, called St. Columkille's Cross, stands in
the churchyard ; and near it is St. Columkille's Well. The most
interesting relique of the abbey is the beautiful Evangeliarium,
known as the Book of Durrow, a manuscript approaching, if
not reaching, to the Columbian age, and now preserved in the
Library of Trinity College, Dublin. See p. xciii. infra. An
ancient Irish poem remains, professing to have been composed
by St. Columba on the occasion of his departure from Dear-
magh for the last time. In reference to the early administra
tion of which, we find in it the following verses : —
INTRODUCTION.
" Beloved the excellent seven,
Whom Christ has chosen to his kingdom
To whom I leave, for their purity,
The constant care of this my church.
Three of whom are here at this side,
Cormac son of Dim a, and ^Engus,
And Collan of pure heart,
Who has joined himself to them.
Libren, Senan, comely Conrach,
The son of Ua Chein, and his brother,
Are the four, besides the others,
Who shall arrive at this place.
They are the seven pillars,
And they are the seven chiefs,
Whom God has surely commanded
To dwell in the same abode."
2. DERRY. — Formerly Daire-Calgaich, as in Adamnan, who
also gives the Latin interpretation, Roboretum Calgachi. For
an account of the foundation, see Orig. Ed., p. 160, Note r. The
original church was called the Dubh-regles, " Black-church," to
which there is reference in the ancient lines cited by Tigher-
nach : —
" Three years, without light, was
Colum in his Black Church :
He passed to angels from his body,
After seven years [and] seventy."
This church, like the Sabhall at Saul and Armagh, is recorded
to have stood north and south ; and the remains of it, which
existed in 1520, were referred to by O'Donnell in proof of the
fact. In the fourteenth century it was called the Cella Nigra,
de Deria. Its Eound Tower was standing in the seventeenth
century, but the only local record of its existence now remain
ing is the name of the lane which leads to its site, the Long
Steeple. It is deserving of notice that Fiachadh, son of Ciaran,
son of Ainmire, son of Sedna, whose death is recorded by
Tighernach at 620, is described by the annalist as alius funda-
torum Daire Calgaidi. He was nephew of Aedh, son of Ainmire,
INTRODUCTION. li
the reputed founder. This entry, and the authorities cited (in the
Orig.Ed.) p. 1 60, are sufficient to vindicate O'Donnell's statements
concerning the donation of Deny from the objections urged in
the Ordnance Memoir of Templemore. This admirable work,
however, will always, and deservedly, be cited as the highest
authority on the history of Derry, and will couple with the
name of that ancient city, and the Ordnance Survey, as the
quickening cause, the revival in Ireland of genuine antiquarian
research.
3. KELLS. — The Irish name is Cenannus, which signifies
"Head-abode," and gives the title of Headfort in the Irish,
and Kenlis in the British Peerage, to the family of Taylor,
whose seat is beside the town of Kells. Kenlis is the transition
form of the name. The site of the monastery was anciently
known as Dun-chuile-sibrinne, and the surrounding territory
was called Magh-Seirigh. It is situate in the north-west of the
county of Meath, and gives name to a parish. The old Irish.
Life, followed by O'Donnell, states that in St. Columba's time it
was the royal dun or seat of Diarmait Mac Cerbhaill, and adds,
" Colum-cille then marked out the city in extent as it now is,
and blessed it all, and said that it would become the most illus
trious possession he should have in the land, although it would
not be there his resurrection should be." O'Donnell observes
that Diarmait granted it to the saint in amends for injuries
which he had done to him, and that his son Aedh Slane was a
consenting party. If a church was founded here by St. Columba
it must have been an inconsiderable one, for there is no mention
of the place in the Annals as a religious seat until 804, when,
on account of the dangers and sufferings to which the com
munity of Hy were exposed, measures were taken for the pro
vision of an asylum in Ireland ; and, as the Annals of Ulster
state, Tabhairt Ceanannsa cen chath do CJwluim cliille ceolacli
hoc anno, " Kells was given, without battle, to Columkille the
harmonious, in this year." In furtherance of which there was
commenced, in 807, the Construct™ nove civitatis Columbe cille
1NTKODUCTION.
hi [in] Ceninnus; and in 814, Ceallach alias lae, finita con\
structione templi Cenindsa, reliquit principatum, et Diarmiciw
alumpnus Daigri pro eo ordinatus est. From this time forward
it became the chief seat of the Columbian monks. There art;
several indications of the ancient importance of the place stil
remaining, such as the fine Eound Tower, about ninety feel
high, which stands in the churchyard; the curious oratory!
called "St. Columkille's House;" the ancient cross in the!
churchyard, having on the plinth the inscription, Crux Patricia
et Columle ; a second cross, now standing near the market-!
place ; and a third, once the finest, now lying in a mutilated;
condition in the churchyard. The shafts of all these crosses!
were covered with historical representations from Scripture.!
Trinity College, Dublin, possesses its great literary monument,;
commonly known as the "Book of Kells." It is an Evan-,
geliarium somewhat resembling the Book of Burrow, but far|
surpassing it in the brilliancy and elaborateness of its execu
tion. (See p. xciv.) In the tenth and following centuries the I
families of Ua h Uchtain and Ua Clucain furnished, succes-
sively, a large proportion of the chief officers of this church, ,
the occupation of its lands having probably become hereditary
in their clans.
4. TOEY.— Formerly Torach, that is, " Towery," from the
torrs or pinnacles of rock by which the island is characterized.
Sometimes it is called Tor-mis, the name by which, strange to
say, the Irish designate St. Martin's Church of Tours. It is
situate off the north coast of Donegal, in the barony of Kil-
macrenan and diocese of Kaphoe, oppo ite the maritime tract
known as the Tuatha, or " territories," of Mac Swyne. There are
many traces of antiquity here, but the most remarkable is the
Eound Tower, fifty-one feet high, which was the nucleus of an
old monastic establishment. In 617, according to Tighernach,
" Torach was laid waste [occisio Tvrchae, An. Ult.], when its
primitive church was probably destroyed; for in 621 the same
annalist records, Hoc tempore constructa est ecclesia Toraidhe,
INTRODUCTION. liii
which the Four Masters (An. 616) interpret, "The church of
Torach was covered in, having been destroyed some time
before." St. Ernan, son of Colman, fifth in descent from
Eoghan, son of Niall, was its first abbot. His day is Aug. 17.
A St. Damongoch, of the same race, is also mentioned in the
Naemhseanchus as a pilgrim of Torach. The herenachs of this
church were, in after times, of the family of O'Eobhartaich, or
O'Koarty.
5. DRUMCLIFF. — Formerly Druim cliabh, situated a little to
the north of Sligo, in the barony of Carbury, and diocese of
Elphin. A portion of its Eound Tower remains in proof of
its ancient consequence. The old Irish Life, followed by
O'Donnell, mentions St. Mothoria as its first abbot under the
founder. This name occurs in the Calendar at the 9th of June.
The herenachy of the church became limited in the eleventh
century to the family of O'Beollain, commonly called O'Boland.
6. SWORDS. — Known by the natives as Sord, or, with the
founder's name, Sord-Choluim-chtik. It is situated in the diocese
and county of Dublin, about seven miles north of the metro
polis, in the territory of which mention has been made by
Adamnan as Ard-Ceannachte. St. Finan Lobhar, of the race of
Tadhg, son of Cian, who gave name to the territory, is said to
have been placed over the church by St. Columba. He is
commemorated at Mar. 1 6. The foundation of this church is
ascribed by the old Irish Life, and O'Donnell its copyist, to our
saint, whose memory is vividly preserved in the parish. The
Eound Tower, surmounted by a cross, marks the site of the
ancient church. A square tower, which belonged to the old
parish church, stands close to the Eound Tower, between it
and the modern church, with which it is unconnected.
7. EAPHOE. — In Irish Bath-loth. St. Adamnan or Eunan is
the reputed patron, but the foundation of the church is ascribed
to St. Columba by an ancient poem, and the old Irish Life, with
O'Donnell, and others. It is situate in the county of Donegal,
and gives name to the barony and diocese. It had, in the
liv INTRODUCTION.
early part of the seventeenth century, a Eound Tower, which
Sir James Ware represents as " built on a hill, in which the
bishops of Eaphoe formerly kept their studies," but it had been
demolished before his time. It is deserving of mention that, in jj
1635, King Charles i. wrote to John Lesley, Bishop of Eaphoe, ,
in reference to his predecessor, Andrew Knox, stating that :
" Andro late bischop of Eapho did without just caus or any !
warrant from our late royall father or ws, carle with him two
of the principal bells that wer in Icolmkill and place them in i
some of the churches of Eapho ; " and requiring him to deliver I
unto the present "bischop of the Yles" these two bells for the i
use of said Cathedral Church.
8. KILMORE. — The Cella Magna Deatlirib of Adamnan, and the
Cill-mor dithrib of the Irish. See Orig. Ed., p. 9 9, Note g. The
Calendars commemorate Fedhliinidh, in connexion with this
church, at Aug. 9 ; and at the same day the " Four sons of
Dioman of Cill-mor-dithrubh." Fedhlimidh, according to
jEngus, was son of Deidiu, daughter of Trena, son of Dub-
thaigh Ui Lugair, and brother of Dega Mac Cairill of Iniskeen.
9. LAMB AY. — Anciently Rechra, and called Redirect, insula by
Adamnan. See Orig. Ed., p. 164, Note b. It has belonged to
Christ Church, Dublin, from a very remote period. In the earliest
grant, circ. 1038, it is called Reclien; and Portrane, the parish
to which it is attached, is called Portrahern, a corruption of
Port-Eechrainn. In 1204 the same places appear under the
names Lambay and Portrachelyn. There is a poem on Eechra
ascribed to St. Columba, in the Laud MS. ; and in another
composition of the same collection the Saint is described as
visiting his churches from Sliabh Fuaid to Leinster, and from
Ath-Feine [in Westmeath] to Eachra.
10. MOONE. — Formerly Maein, and Maein Choluim-chille. It
is situate in the county and diocese of Kildare, in the barony of
Kilkea and Moone. The foundation of the church is ascribed in
the old Irish Life to St. Columba, and his memory has always
been held in great veneration in the parish. An ancient sculp-
INTRODUCTION. lv
tured cross stands in the churchyard, called St. ColumJcilles Cross.
The name occurs in the Four Masters at 1014 and 1040 only.
11. CLONMORE. — Cluain-mor Fer Arda, " Cluain-mor of
Fer-arda" is the old name. The old Irish Life, followed by
O'Donnell, states that St. Columba, having founded the church,
committed it to Oissein, son of Ceallach, whose day in the
Calendar is Jan. 1. Clonmore is a parish in the diocese of
Armagh, situate in the county of Louth, and barony of Ferrard.
The church is styled "Ecclesia S. Columbse de Clonmore" in
the diocesan registries of the fifteenth century. There are the
remains of an old church ; and a patron in honour of St.
Columkille was held on the 9th of June.
12. KILMACRENAN. — Cill-mac-Nenain of records. See Orig.
Ed., p. 191, Note c. In the Laud MS. of Columkille's poems is
one in which the Saint is represented as expressing his love for
Kilmicnenain and Gartan. In three other poems of the same
collection it is called by its original name Doire-Eithne ; and one
of them (p. 62) mentions a tribute which was payable by the
abbot of Hy to Doire Eithne in Ireland. The O'Firghils, or
O'Freels, who were the herenachs of this church, were descended
from Firghil, great-grandson of Aedh, who was son of Eoghan,
St. Columkill's brother.
13. GARTAN. — The parish in which St. Columba was born.
The family of O'lSTahan were the hereditary herenachs and
corbes who had also the privilege of carrying " Collumkillies
read stoane." This was the Clock Ruadh mentioned by O'Don
nell. Gartan is a wild parish in the county of Donegal, and
diocese of Kaphoe, having the ruins of a small church, inside
which is the old tomb of an O'Donnell, and in the adjoining
churchyard the traces of an earlier structure.
14. GLENCOLUMKILL. — Formerly Seangleann, or Gleann Gairge,
and called by these names in the poems attributed to St. Co
lumba. It is a wild, desolate parish in the barony of Banagh,
at the south-west of the county of Donegal. See Orig. Ed.,
p. 206, Note e. The herenachy was in the family of Mac Eneilis.
Ivi INTRODUCTION.
15. TEMPLEDOUGLAS. — Formerly Tulachdulh-glaisse, "Hill of j
the Dark Stream." See Orig. Ed., p. 1 92, Note c. There are the \
remains of an old church ; and the cemetery is in two portions j
in one of which was an ancient enclosure of stones like a roofless
chapel, which was commonly called Ced-mitheachd ColumJcille, j
that is, " Primum Columbse deambulacrum," from the tradition i
that it was the first ground which St. Columba paced after he !
had learned to walk.
16. ASSYLYN. — Eos Ua Floinn, a spot on the river Boyle, i
about a mile west of the town. It was anciently called Eas
mic nEirc, from Dachonna, or Mochonna, son of Earc, who is
said to have been placed over it by St. Columba. His day is
March 8. The old Irish Life, as well as the Tripartite Life of
St. Patrick, ascribes the foundation to St. Columba. Adamnan
twice alludes to St. Columba's stay in this neighbourhood. See
Orig. Ed., pp. 79, 129.
17. SKREEN. — Serin Cholaim-chille, so called from its being
the repository of a shrine with some of St. Columba's relics.
The old church stands on a hill, in the county of Meath, which
was formerly called, according to the Dinnseanchus, Achaill,
and gives name to a rural deanery in the diocese of Meath. It
is mentioned by Tighernach at 976, and by the Four Masters
at 1027, 1037, 1058, 1127, 1152. The Ordnance Survey marks
St. Columkille's Well on the N.w. of the church.
18. BALLYNASCREEN. — Called Serin Colaim cille by the Four
Masters at 1203. The old church, situate in a picturesque
valley on the Moyola Water, occupies the site of an earlier
building. The parish is called Baile na Scrine, " Town of the
Shrine," and forms the western portion of the barony of Lough-
insholin, in the modern county of Londonderry ; but until the
seventeenth century it was considered as situate in Gleann-
Concadhan in Tirone. See the Eev. Kobert King's Old Church
of Ballynascreen, p. 103; Eeeves' Cotton's Visitation, p. 82.
1 9. SCREEN. — Serin i nArda, Scrinium de Ardo. An ancient
chapel in the townland of Craig, parish of Tamlaghtard or
INTRODUCTION. Ivii
Magilligan, in the diocese and county of Derry. — Eeeves' Col-
ton's Visitation, p. 78. For an account of the ancient shrine
preserved here, see O'Donnell.
20. DRUMCOLUMB. — Druim Choluim cille, Dor sum Columbce-
cille, anciently Druim-namac. O'Donnell preserves the tradi
tion that a church was founded here by St. Columba, who left
his disciple Finbarr in charge of it, having given him a bell
called Glassan, and a cross. It is now a parish church of the
diocese of Elphin, in the barony of Tirerrill, county of Sligo.
21. COLUMBKILLE. — This is the name of a parish in the barony
of Granard, on the N.E. of the county of Longford. Here, in
Lough Gowna, is an island of fourteen and a half acres, called
Inchmore, formerly known as Inir-mor Locha Gamlina. On this
island is an ecclesiastical ruin called Teampull Choluim-cille,
which was formerly the parish church. Eman mac Findbairr
was prior of it in 1415.
22. EMLAGHFAD. — Imleach fada, " the long marsh." Here,
according to O'Donnell, St. Columba founded a church on the
west side of a hill called Tulach-segra [now Tully in Toomour]
in the district of Corann, appointing Enna, son of Nuadhan, its
first minister. It is now a parish church in the diocese of
Achonry, and county of Sligo.
23. GLENCOLUMBKILLE. — Gleann Choluim cille, Vallis Columbce
cille. The two townlands of this name, North and South, are
situate on the east side of the parish of Carran, in the diocese
of Kilfenora, and in the barony of Burren, on the N.E. side of
the county of Clare. The Ordnance Map marks the Graveyard,
and St. ColumbkiWs Church in ruins.
24. KILCOLUMB. — A parish in the S.E. of the county of
Kilkenny, barony of Ida, on the river Barrow. The Ordnance
Map marks Kilcolumb Church in ruins, and a well, Tobernago-
lumb.
25. KNOCK. — Formerly called Knockcollumkill, and marked
Collumkill on Speed's map of Ulster. Father Mac Cana, in the
early part of the seventeenth century, thus described it : " Inter
d
Iviii INTRODUCTION.
Commor [Cumber] et sestuarium Loch-Laodh [see p. 291, infra]
quod Karrick-fergusium et Belfastium oppida alluit, est ecclesia
D. Columbae sacra, quam egre^iis agris ac multis privilegiia
auxit Niallus O'Niellus [cir. 1512] Tren-Congallise [Dalaradise]
Princeps." — Ulster Journ. of Archceol, vol. ii. p. 56. The parish
is now united to Breda, and forms the union of Knock-Breda
in the diocese of Down. The ruins of the church, situate near
a fine earthen fort, occupy a commanding position on the
Castlereagh Hills, about three miles S.E. of Belfast. See
Reeves' Eccles. Antiq., p. 12.
26. TERMON-MAGUIRK. — Formerly Tearmonn Cuiminigh, and
known in the thirteenth and following centuries as Termon-
conyn, or Termon-conny. It may derive its name from Cuimne,
sister of St. Columba. About half a mile from the old church
is a nearly disused burying-ground called Eellig-na-man \Eeileg
na mbeann], or " the Women's Cemetery ;" and the local tradi
tion is, that St. Columkill directed a woman of bad character to
be buried at a spot where the sound of a bell, rung in front of
the funeral, would cease to be heard at his church ; and that he
left an injunction that the cemetery should never be entered by
a living woman or a dead man. Devout women in old times
used to request burial here, under the idea that none interred
here would be damned ; but this impression has nearly disap
peared. Outside the old parish cemetery of Termon there are
two others, called Bdig-na-paisde, " Children's Cemetery," and
Relig-na-fir-gunta, " Cemetery of the Slain." Colgan's version
of O'Donnell incorrectly calls the church Tearmonn Cetmainich.
The parish derives its present name from the family of Mac
Guirk, who were formerly herenachs, under the Primate, of the
ecclesiastical lands in the parish. See Beeves' Colton, p. 3. It
is situate in the barony of Omagh East, county of Tyrone, and
diocese of Armagh.
27. CLOGHMORE. — A townland in the parish of Killannin,
diocese of Tuam, situate in the county of Galway, and barony
of Moycullen. In Roderick O'Flaherty's time there was an
INTRODUCTION. Hx
altar of St. Columbkill near a brook in this townland, and there
is still an old churchyard bearing his name.
28. COLUMBKILLE. — Called Capella de Colmekyll in the ancient
Taxation of Ossory. The Ordnance Survey marks St. Columb-
kttle's Church in ruins, and St. Columbkille's Well. It is a parish
of the diocese of Ossory, situated in the barony of Gowran, near
the centre of the county of Kilkenny.
29. ARDCOLUM. — A parish of the diocese of Ferns, situate
in the barony of Shelmalier, on the east side of the county of
Wexford. The Ordnance Survey marks St. Columb's Church in
ruins, Graveyard, and St. Columb's Well.
30. ARMAGH. — Recks Cholaim cille, " Church of Columcille,"
in Armagh, is mentioned by the Annals of Ulster, An. 1010,
and the Four Mast., An. 1152. Concerning the site of this
church, see Stuart's Armagh, p. 96.
31. MORNINGTON. — Formerly Villa Maris, or Mariner -stown,
and a distinct parish. It now forms a portion of the union of
Colpe, in the county and diocese of Meath. — " Ecclesia S.
Columbse."
32. DESERTEGNY. — A parish of Deny, situate in Inishowen,
county of Donegal. Colgan states that St. Columba was patron.
See Eeeves' Colton, p. 67.
33. CLONMANY. — A parish of the diocese of Derry, in the
barony of Inishowen, county of Donegal. St. Columba was
patron, according to Colgan. See Eeeves' Colton, p. 67.
34. DESERTOGHILL. — A parish in the diocese of Derry, and
barony of Coleraine, in the county of Londonderry. St. Columba
was patron. See Eeeves' Colton, p. 80.
35. BALLYMAGROARTY. — This, which is a townland in the
parish of Drumhome, of the diocese of Eaphoe, situate in the
county of Donegal, barony of Tirhugh, is divided into two por
tions, called Irish and Scotch. In the former are the- remains
of an old chapel which formerly bore the name of St. Columba.
The name of the townland is derived from the family of Mac
Eobhartaigh, pronounced Mac Eoarty, and written baile-mecc-
Ix INTRODUCTION.
Rabhartaich, by Colgan, who adds, "ubi illud celebre reliquiarium
S. Columbae quod Cathach appellatur." This chapel is situate
near Bath-Cunga (Orig. Ed., p. 38), the right of which was in con
troversy between the Columbian monks and those of Ardstraw,
so early as the eighth century, as appears from the following
passage of Tirechan concerning St. Assicus : — " Et sunt ossa
ejus in campo Sered hi Eaith-Chungi, monachus Patricii, sed
contenderunt eum familia Columbae-cille et familia Airddsratha."
36. BALLYMAGRORTY. — A townland in the parish of Temple-
more, or Derry. Colgan says of it : " Olim monasterium (cujus
ruinse vix nunc extant) dicecesis Dorensis in praedicta regione
de Inis-Eoguin."
37. ESKAHEEN. — In the parish of Muff, to the N.N.E. of the
city of Derry. See Orig. Ed., p. 247, Note p. The ruins of the,
old church stand near the Eoman Catholic chapel.
The expression cujus monasteria, intra utrorumque populo-
rum terminos (p. 191), as applied to St. Columba, is not
limited to the churches which were founded by him in person,
but includes all those which, down to the writer's time, were
established by Columbian monks, or professed subjection
to the mother church of Hy. Hence it is likely that many
monasteries, which in the seventh and eighth centuries might
be classed under the above title, ceased in after times to bear
any trace of their original relation, and became distinguished
only by the names of the immediate founders, under whose
patronage they were built. St. Dochonna's church, for instance,
was probably at first subject to Hy, though afterwards indepen
dent, when known as St. Machar's of Aberdeen. The following
catalogue of Columbian foundations in Scotland admits of con
siderable enlargement, but it is sufficient to show how widely
the veneration of St. Columba was extended in his adopted
country : —
AMONG THE SCOTS.
1. SOROBY. — In the island of Tiree. The modern name is of
Scandinavian origin, but there can be little doubt that it repre-
ISTKODUCTION. Ixi
sents the Campus Lunge so frequently mentioned by Adamnan.
See Notes on B. i. c. 24. It will be seen from the App. I. that
the names of several Irish saints are associated with places in
the island, although the chief founder has no longer any local
commemoration therein.
2. ELACHNAVE. — One of the Garveloch group of islands. A
modern writer says : " The Garvelloch, or Holy Islands, are
remarkable for having been once the residence of the monks of
lona." And a visitor of more recent date observes : " A water-
spring at the head of a narrow creek in the adjacent shore is
called St. Columba's Well," adding, what seems an imported
tradition, that a little pile on the summit of a neighbouring
height was said to be " the tomb of ^Ethnea, mother of the illus
trious saint." The adjacent island is called Culbrandon, i.e.,
Secessus Brendani.
3. LOCH COLUMKILLE. — On the N.-w. of the parish of Kilmuir,
in Skye. See notes on B. I. c. 27, and B. II. c. 27, for the de
scription of its monastic remains. The particulars of its drain
ing are to be found in the New Statistical Account, vol.
xiv. pt. 1, pp. 246, 267, 279. It may be a question whether
the island of Skye belonged to the Picts or to the Scots
in Columba's time : the anecdote told in i. 33 seems
in favour of the former. Tighernach, at 668 (An. Ult. 667),
records the Navigatio filiorum Gartnaith ad Hiberniam cum
plebe Scith; and at 670 (An. Ult. 669), Fenit Gens Gartnait de
Hibernia ; where Scith probably denotes Skye. In this case
the filii Gartnait may have been the family of Gartnait, the
youngest son of King ^Edan, who had occupied the island : but
this is not likely, as the Cinel Gabhrain, to which they belonged,
were the most southern settlers of the Scotic colony. The filii
Gartnait were rather the sons of Gartnait mac Uuid, the Pictish
king in 636, or of his successor, Gartnait mac Domhnall, who
died in 663. In this case the change of settlement, in 668,
may have been caused by Scotic occupation. However, when
Adamnan wrote, the mountain of the Dorsum Britannia being
Ixii INTRODUCTION.
considered the boundary line, the islands on the west would
necessarily fall to the Scots. Hence the legend of St. Comgan
in the Aberdeen Breviary states that the adjacent parish on
the mainland of Lochelch [now Lochalsh] was in Erchadia
loriali, or North Argyle.
4. FLADDA-CHUAIN. — Of this island, which lies N.w. of the
extreme north point of Skye, Martin writes : —
" Fladda-Chuan (i.e.) Fladda of the Ocean, lies about two Leagues
distant from the West-side of Hunish-point, it is two Miles in Com
pass, the Ground is boggy, and but indifferent for Corn or Grass.
There is a Chappel in the Isle dedicated to St. Columbus ; it has an
Altar in the East-end, and there is a blue Stone of a round Form
on it, which is always moist ; It is an ordinary Custom, when any
of the Fishermen are detained in the Isle, by contrary Winds, to
wash the blue Stone with water all round, expecting thereby to
procure a favourable Wind, which the Credulous Tenant living in
the Isle says never fails, especially if a Stranger wash the Stone ;
The Stone is likewise applied to the sides of People troubled with
Stitches, and they say it is effectual for that purpose. And so
great is the regard they have for this Stone, that they swear de
cisive Oaths on it. The Monk 0 Gorgon is buried near to this
Chappell, and there is a Stone five foot high at each end of his
Grave."
This story of the Uue stone is not worse than that of the white
stone at ii. 34. Modern description represents this small
island as having three burial-places, one of which is called
Cladk Mhanaich, " Monks' tomb."
5. TRODDA. — Off Aird Point, south-east of the preceding.
Martin says : " The Isle Troda lies within half a League of the
Northermost point of Skie, called Hunish, it is two Miles in
Circumference, fruitful in Corn, and Grass, and had a Chappel
dedicated to St. Columbm."
6. SNIZORT.— In SKYE. Formerly Kilcolmkill, or St. Colme's
Kirk in Snesford. See Notes on Book I. c. 27, and B. II. c. 27.
The New Statistical Account describes the remains of the old
church as " the ruins of a large cathedral."
7. EILEAN COLUIMCTLLE.— An island in the southern recess of
IM'KODUCTION. Ixiii
Portree Bay, on the east of Skye. See Notes on B. i. c. 27,
and B. II. c. 27. Portree Bay was anciently Loch Coluimcille ;
and the old name of the parish was Cill-tarraglan.
8. GAKIEN. — In the parish of Stornoway, formerly Ness, on
the north shore of Broad Bay, at the N.E. side of Lewis, there
was a chapel called St. Colm's Church.
9. EY. — The peninsula of Ui, on the N.E. side of Lewis, gave
name to a parish. The church, called St. Collums in Ui, stood
on the isthmus, a little east of Stornoway. The cemetery, con
taining the ruins which are described as " strong walls now
standing," is still to be seen. It was the original burial-
place of the clan Mac Leod.
10. ST. COLM'S ISLE. — Situate in Loch Erisort, in the parish
of Lochs, on the east side of Lewis. Here stood St. Columba's
Church, the cemetery of which is still the parish burying-grouiid.
North of this was the bay called Loch Colmkille.
11. BEENERA. — An island belonging to the parish of Harris,
but lying close to the North Uist. It had two ancient chapels,
one of which was named after St. Columba.
12. KILCHOLMKILL. — In the old parish of Sand, on the north
side of North Uist, at a place called Clachan, stood this ancient
church. The New Statistical Account mentions that there are
several burial-grounds in the parish,but it does not specify this.
13. KILCHOLAMBKILLE. — In Benbecula, formerly known as
the Church of St. Columba in Beandmoyll. It stood on the north
coast of the island. At Ballvannich, or Ballinamanniche, near
the N.w. coast, is a small island in a lake, containing ecclesi
astical remains. The lands here are supposed to have belonged
to the abbot of Hy. Indeed the whole island, which abounds
with vestiges of old ecclesiastical establishments, appears to
have had of old a very intimate connexion with Hy.
14. HOWMORE.— In South Uist. Martin states that there
was a church here bearing our Saint's name, and adds : " A
Stone set up near a Mile to the S. of Columbus's Church, about
eight foot high, and two foot broad, it is called by the Natives
Ixiv INTRODUCTION.
the Bowing-Stone ; for when the Inhabitants had the first sight
of the Church, they set up this Stone, and there bowed and said
the Lord's Prayer." He observes that " the Natives speak the
Irish Tongue more perfectly here, than in most of the other
Islands ;" also that " Fergus Beaton hath the following ancient
Irish Manuscripts in the Irish Character ; to wit, A. Vicenna,
A. Verroes, Joannes de Vigo, Bernardus Gordonus, and several
Volumes of Hypocrates"
1 5. ST. KILDA. — Formerly, and still among the natives, Hirt.
One of its three ancient chapels was St. Golumba's; another
St. Brendan's.
16. CANNA. — The church, as Martin states, was "dedicated
to St. Columbus." It stood near the middle of the island, in
ruins in 1772, having beside it a small cross.
1 7. ISLAND COLUMBKILL. — Situate at the head of Loch Arkeg,
in the parish of Kilrnalie, in Inverness. It derived its name
from a chapel of St. Columba.
1 8. KILLCHALLUMKILL. — A chapel at Duror in Appin, oppo
site Lismore.
19. KILCOLMKILL. — Now Kiel in Ardchattan. " This chappell
town called in Inglish St. Colme's Chappell."
20. KILCOLMKILL.— This church, sometimes called St. Colum-
ba's in Kinelvadon, or St. Columba' s in Morwarne, gave name to
an old parish, which was afterwards united with Killintag to
form the modern parish of Morvern in Argyle. This territory,
called from the descendants of Baedan, of the house of Loarn
Mor, Kinelbathyn, or Kinelbadon, afterwards contracted to
Cenalbin, formed the chief portion of the ancient seignory of
Garmoran. The cemetery, with a small portion of the ruins of
Kilcolmkill, is situate at Kiel, on Loch-aline, on the s.w. of the
present parish. It was of old esteemed a sanctuary.
21. KILCOLLUMKILL. — An old parish of Mull, now united to
Kilninian. The church stood at the head of a loch in the dis
trict of Quinish, on the north coast of Mull.
22. COLUMKILLE. — In the parish of Torosay, on the east coast
INTRODUCTION. IxV
of Mull. " Near the small village of Salen are the ruins of a
cell which belonged to the monastery of lona. The village is
called Salen-dubh- Challum-chille"
23. ORANSAY. — Separated from Colonsay at flood- tide only.
Here tradition places the first landing of St. Columba on his
leaving Ireland. It is the vulgar opinion that the two names
denote respectively Oran's and Colum's isle. But this is incor
rect : Colonsay is called Coloso by Adamnan, and there are four
islands of the name in Argyleshire ; while there is an Oronsay
off North Uist, and another off South Uist, none of which
possess any traces of early ecclesiastical distinction. Fordun
(Bowar) notices the present island as " Hornesay ubi est monas-
terium nigrorum canonicorum, quod fundavit Sanctus Columba."
Martin says : " It is adorn'd with a Church, Chappel, and
Monastry ; they were Built by the famous St. Columbus, to
whom the Church is dedicated." There may have been an
earlier church on the island, but the ruins to which Martin
alludes are the remains of a priory which was founded by a
Lord of the Isles, and affiliated to Holyrood. After the disso
lution of religious houses, the priory of Oransay was annexed to
the bishopric of the Isles ; hence we find Andrew Knox, bishop
of Eaphoe, in 1630, who still held the Isles with his Irish pre
ferment, as prior of Oransay, granting to Colin Campbell, rector
of Craigness, the isles of Elachniue and Kilbrandan, with the
parsonage and vicarage teinds of the same, both which apper
tained to the priory. In 1635 this grant was confirmed by his
successor in the bishopric of the Isles. There is a hill in
Colonsay called Cam cul-ri-Erin, " Carn-of-the-back-to-Ire-
land;" and in the north of the island a small chapel called
Tempull-na-gluine, where St. Columba is said to have embarked
for Hy. The old church of Colonsay (not of Oransay) was
called Killoran.
24. KILCHOLMKILL.— A chapel in the parish of Kildalton, on
the east coast of Islay.
25. KILCHOLMKILL. — A chapel of St. Columba in Kilarrow, a
Ixvi INTRODUCTION.
parish of Islay, situate between Loch Finlagan and the sea.
" There is a Cross standing near St. Columbas's or Portescock
side, which is ten foot high."
26. COVE. — In the parish of North Knapdale, formerly Kill-
mochormac, on the west side of Loch Killisport, near its head,
was a chapel of St. Columba ; and, in a neighbouring cave, an
altar, piscina, and cross cut in the rock.
27. KILCOLUMKILL. — This old church, which was situate at
the southern extremity of Cantyre, between Carskay and Dun-
averty, gave name to a parish which is now united to Kilblane
to form the modern parish of Southend. Kilcolmkill forms the
south-west portion, and contains the Mull of Cantyre. The
grant of St. Collomkill's church in Kyntire, which had been
made by Patrick Makschillingis, and Finlach his wife, to the
canons of Whithern, was confirmed by King Eobert Bruce in
1326. The ruins of the chapel are in the unusual proportion
of 72 to 15 feet.
28 ST. COLOMB'S. — An ancient chapel of the parish of Kothe-
say, in Bute.
29. KILMACOLM. — Now incorrectly written Kilmalcolm. A
large parish in Kenfrew, formerly including Port-Glasgow, and
now situate next it on the south and east.
30. LARGS. — In Ayrshire. " The church, surrounded by its
ancient village, stood on the level ground on the right bank of
the Gogo, where it falls into the Firth. It was dedicated to St.
Columba, whose festival was on the 9th day of June, and a
yearly fair, vulgarly called Colm's day, once famous in the West
Highlands, is still held there on the second Tuesday of June,
old style."
31. KIRKCOLM. — A parish in Wigton, on the west side of
Loch Eyan, opposite Glenarm, in the county of Antrim.
32. ST. COLUMBO. — In the parish of Caerlaverock in Dumfries,
on the east side of the Mouth of the Mth, " a little below Glen-
caple Key, close by the shore, was a cell or chapel dedicated to
St. Columba ; near this is a well, of which no person was per-
INTRODUCTION. Ixvii
initted to drink without leaving a portion of victuals, or a piece
of money, as an alms to the inhabitant of the cell."
The four parishes last mentioned were originally occupied by
Australes Picti, but in Ven. Bede's time the Angli had come in
on them, and they were then considered in the provincia Ber-
niciorum.
AMONG THE PICTS.
1. BURNESS. — A parish in the north-west of Sanday, one of
the Orkney islands, formerly known as St. Colm's.
2. HOY. — One of the Orkneys, on the s.w. It had a chapel
of St. Columkill.
3. ST. COMBS.— In the parish of Olrick in Caithness. " On
the boundary of the parish in the east, towards Dunnet, the
spot is still called St. Coomb's Kirk, supposed to have been
overwhelmed in the sand at night."
4. DIRLET. — In the parish of Halkirk in Caithness. There
was a chapel of St. Columba at this place.
5. ISLAND COMB. — In the parish of Tongue, off the north
coast of Sutherland. It is sometimes called JZilean-na-naoimh,
" Island of Saints." It had formerly a chapel and cemetery, the
traces of which are still to be seen.
6. KILLCOLMKILL.— In Strabruraich, or " Srath of Brora," on
the east side of Loch Brora, in the parish of Clyne, and county
of Sutherland, stood this chapel. " In digging some ground at
that place, a cemetery was found that contained large human
bones, upon which a stop was put to the digging there. At
some little distance from it, a year or two ago (1794), a gentle
man making out part of the high road, found a stone cross,
which was immediately erected in the place where it was
found."
7. AULDEARN. — A parish in Nairn. St. Columba was patron
of the church, and his fair, called St. Colm's Market, is held here
annually on the first Wednesday after the 19th [query N. s., or
9th ?] of June.
Ixviii
INTRODUCTION.
8. PETTIE. — With Bracholy, a parish in Inverness-shire. For
merly Petyn. In 'the Register of Moray we find mention of
" Walterus vicarius S. Columbse de Petyn."
9. KINGUSSIE. — A parish in Badenoch, on the east of Inver
ness-shire. St. Columba was patron, and the chief fair is held
in June, probably on his day.
10. ST. COLM'S. — A chapel at Aird, in the parish of Fordyce,
Banff.
11. ALVAH. — A parish on the north-east of Banff. St.
Columba seems to have been the patron saint, for at the foot
of the Hill of Alvah is St. Colm's Well ; and, not far from it
on the south, the church.
12. LONMAY. — A parish at the north-east angle of Aberdeen-
shire, near Cairnbulg. " Previous to 1 608, the parish church
was by the sea-side, hard by where the village of St. Combs now
stands. " An earlier writer says, " This parish at different times
has been named St. Colm, from the name of the saint to whom
the old church was dedicated, and Lonmay, from the name of
the estate on which the church now stands."
13. DAVIOT. — A parish nearly in the middle of Aberdeen-
shire. St. Columba was the patron, and his effigy in stone was
formerly placed in a niche within the church." St. Colm's Fair
was formerly held at Kirktown in this parish, on every 9th of
June.
14. BELHELVIE. — This parish, adjoining Aberdeen on the
north, " hath for its tutelar Saint Colm." St. Colm's Fair used
to be held here, at Drumhead, June 9th.
15. MONYCABO. — Or, New Machar, a parish formerly a
chapelry of Old Machar of Aberdeen. It bore the name of
St. Colm's.
16. CORTACHY. — A parish in the N.w. of Forfarshire. St.
Colm's Fair used to be held here annually, at Muirs-keith, near
the kirk.
17. TANNADICE. — In the middle of Forfarshire, S.E. of the
last. " A chapel is said to have been here [at Shielhill], in old
INTRODUCTION. Ixix
time ; and a fountain, at a little distance, is known by the name
of St. Colm, to whom the chapel may have been inscribed."
18. DUNKELD. — In Perthshire. It has been stated on re
spectable authority, that Columba, circ. 640, was first bishop
of this church. But, on maturer consideration, the writer
has come to the conclusion that the founder of Hy was the
only Columba whose name was ever prominently associated
with Dunkeld, and that the misapprehension has arisen from
erroneous statements in the Irish Life of St. Cuthbert. The
version of it printed in the Nova Legenda of Capgrave relates
the departure of St. Cuthbert's mother from Ireland to Britain,
and tells how " venit Mater cum puero ad Episcopum Colum-
bam qui primus sedem Dunkelde rexit in Scotia." To the
same effect the Durham narrative, borrowed from a similar
source : " Cum ad fines Scotiae pervenisset, Sanctus Columba
primus episcopus in Dunkel puerum suscepit, unaque cum
puellula quadam, nomine Brigida ex Hybernia oriunda, retinuit
et aliquandiu educavit." And in the following chapter : " Post-
modum vero cum matre puer ad insulam quse Hy dicitur, pro-
fectus est, ubi aliquandiu cum religiosis viris loci illius conver-
satus est." Now the word Scotia in these authorities savours
very much of circ. 1 100, or later. A writer of that period would
find Dunkeld a bishop's see, and the name Columba intimately
associated with it. Hence, by a process similar to that which
made St. Eunan bishop of Eaphoe in Ireland, he would argue
that the founder of St. Columba's diocesan church of Dunkeld
was a Columba and a bishop. But the fact was otherwise. The
Danish descents on Hy in the early part of the ninth century,
and the rise of Kells in Ireland, had caused a diversion in the
administration of the Columbian brotherhood ; and when, soon
after, the Pictish nation yielded to Scotic rule, and Kenneth
Mac Alpin transferred the seat of government to the eastern
side of the kingdom, a collateral movement took place in the
ecclesiastical economy of his dominions : and accordingly, circ.
849, he ftnmded a church at the seat of government, which was
xx INTRODUCTION.
to be an inland Hy, and the representative of the Columbian
institution for the united kingdom. In furtherance of this
project, St. Columkille was named the patron saint, and a por
tion of his relics, real or alleged, were deposited in the site, as a
material guarantee of the dedication. Hence the 9th of June
became the proper festival of Dunkeld, and St. Columba's
memory associated with its future history. As the new founda
tion was essentially Columbian, the intercourse which previ
ously existed between the mother church and Ireland was
extended to the east of Scotland : and for this reason the few
names of the early abbots of Dunkeld which are preserved are
strictly Irish, and found in Irish Annals only. Hy continued
to decline, and Dunkeld to rise in importance ; tradition stamped
the former with sanctity, but royalty invested the latter with
power : and, as a consequence, when the jurisdiction of bishops
began to be defined by diocesan limits, Argyle, including Hy,
was comprised within the diocese of Dunkeld, subject, no doubt,
to occasional interference from the Irish coarbs of St. Columba,
who regarded themselves as the conventual superintendents of
the society ; and to a temporary usurpation of authority by the
Norwegians : but the relation was presently renewed ; and long
after 1200, when Argyle became a distinct see, withLismore as
the centre of jurisdiction, the island of Hy, which was farther
west, continued to own episcopal subjection to its kindred
church of Dunkeld. We find the following notices of Dunkeld
in the Annals of Ulster : — A.C. 864, Tuathal mac Artgusso pi*im
epscop Fortrenn acas abbas Duin caillenn dormivit, " Tuathal, son
of Artgus, chief Bishop of Pictland, and Abbot of Duncaillenn,
fell asleep." A.c. 872, FlaitJibertacli mac Murcertaigh princeps
Duinchaillden obiit, "Flaithbertach, son of Muircertach, Superior
of Duncailldenn, died." A.c. 964, Oath etir firu Allan in
Moneitir ubi multi occisi sunt im Donnchadh .i. abbaidh Duine-
caillenn, " Battle between the men of Alba at Moneitir [again
1004] where many were slain, together with Donnchadh, i.e. the
Abbot of Dun-caillenn." A.c. 1027, Diincaillenn, i nAlbain
INTRODUCTION. Ixxi
do uile loscadh, "DuncailJenn in Alba was entirely burned." A.c.
1045, Catli eder Albancu etarru fein i torcair Cronan abb Duine
caillend, " Battle among the Albanach between themselves, in
which was slain Cronan, Abbot of Duncaillenn."
1 9. INCHCOLM. — An island in the Forth, belonging to Aber-
dour in the county of Fife. In 1123, King Alexander, being
overtaken in a violent storm in the Forth, vowed to erect on an
island therein, should he reach it, a religious house to serve as
an asylum and comfort to the shipwrecked. He succeeded in
landing on this island, which was called ^Emonia, " ubi tune
degebat quidam eremita insulanus, qui servitio Sancti Columbse
deditus, ad quandam inibi capellulam tenui victu, utpote lacte
unius vaccae et conchis ac pisciculis marinis collectis, contenta-
tus, sedule se dedit."
20. KINCARDINE. — In the detached portion of Perthshire,
on the Forth. Here was a " croft of land of St. Colme."
21. DRYMEN. — A parish in Lennox, in the west of Stirling
shire. The church was under the title of St. Columba, and his
yearly market, called St. Oolm's Fair, was formerly held here
on the 9th of June.
IV.
The desire which prevailed, in the early ages of Christianity, SAINT
to imitate even the accidental features of the apostolic system, CoLUMBA's
TWELVE
naturally suggested the adoption of the number Twelve in the DISCIPLES.
adjustment of religious societies ; and its use was afterwards
extended to other relations, both social and moral. We find
in Adamnan the mention of King Oswald and his twelve com
panions (p. 6) ; of twelve years as a term of monastic service
(pp. 19, 99); of a flotilla of twelve curachs (p. 75); and of
St. Columba and his twelve disciples. The names of these
twelve followers have been thus given in Codex B : —
" Hsec sunt duodecim virorum nomina qui cum sancto Columba
cle Scotia, primo ejus transitu ad Brittanniam, transnavigaverunt :
Duo filii Brenden, Baithene, qui et Conin, sancti successor Columbae ;
Ixxii INTRODUCTION.
et Cobthach, frater ejus ; Ernaan, sancti avunculus Columbse ; Dior-
mitius, ejus ministrator ; Rus, et Techno, duo filii Rodain ; Scandal,
films Bresail filii Endei filii Neil ; Luguid Mocuthemne ; Echoid ;
Tochannu Mocufir-cetea ; Cairnaan, filius Branduib filii Meilgi ;
Grillaan.
" Sancti Columbse parentes : Aedelmith, pater ejus, filius Fer-
guso ; Eithne, mater ipsius, filia filii JSTavis.
" logen germanus frater Columbse junior. Item, tres germanse
sorores ejus : Cuimne, mater filiorum Meic Decuil, qui nominantur
Mernooc, et Cascene, et Meldal, et Bran qui sepultus est in Dairu
Calchaich, consobrini sancti Columbse ; Mincholeth, mater filiorum
Enain, quorum unus Calmaan dicebatur; Sinech mater virorum
Mocucei in Cuile-aque, quorum nomina sunt Aidanus monachus,
qui sepultus est hi Cuil-uisci, et Chonrii Moccucein, qui sepultus
est in Daurmaig ; avia Tocummi Mocucein, qui valde senio fessus,
presbiter sanctus, in lona insula prsesentem finivit vitam."
The following recital will serve as a commentary on that list,
in showing the prevalence of the duodecimal economy among
the Irish as well as the other inhabitants of the British Isles : —
I. — MISSIONARY.
1. S. Palladius, with twelve companions, sent to the Scots.
2. S. Mochta, a Briton, circ, 500, came to Ireland with
twelve disciples.
3. S. Columla, An. 562, with twelve followers, retired to Hy.
4. S. Mochonna, called also Macarius and Mauritius, was
sent by St. Columba with twelve companions to
the Picts.
5. S. Columbanus, circ. 612, with twelve brethren, whose
names are on record, departed from Ireland to the
Continent.
6. S. Kilian, circ. 680, was chief of a company of twelve
who went from Ireland to Franconia, and founded
the church of Wiirtzburg. . ^txNj*5^
7. S. Moquius, disciple of S. Fursa, circ. 680, with twelve
companions, whose names are preserved, propagated
the Gospel in Belgium.
8. S. Rudbert, or Rupert, circ. 700, chose twelve companions,
whose names are on record, to assist him in preach
ing the Gospel in Bavaria.
9. $. Willibrord, who had studied for twelve years in
Ireland, was chief of a society of twelve who, in ,
692, were sent by Ecgbert to evangelize Friesland.
Their names are <?iven in Surius.
INTRODUCTION. Ixxiii
10. S. Forannan, an Irishman, bishop and abbot of Vassor,
circ. 970, with twelve companions, propagated the
Gospel on the Belgic frontier.
11. S. Paulus, uncle of S. Jovimis, with twelve presbyters,
passed over from Britain to Armorica.
12. S. Joseph, and his twelve companions, appear in the
Glastonbury Legends; and the number recurs in
other instances adduced by Ussher.
II. — MONASTIC.
1. S.' Carthach, or Mochuda, formed at Eahen a com
munity of twelve, whose names are recorded.
2. S. David, of Menevia, founded twelve monasteries.
3. S. Petroc, who retired to the wilderness with twelve
companions.
4. S. Benedict founded twelve monasteries, placing in each
twelve monks under a superior.
5. S. Cungar, or Doccuin, placed twelve canons in each
of his monasteries.
6. S. Gall built an oratory, " mansiuneculis per gyrum
dispositis, ad commanendum fratribus, quorum jam
xn. ad seternorum desiderium concitavit."
7. S. Corpreus, collected twelve presbyters into his church
at Clonmacnois.
8. S. Disibod, an Irishman, in whose church of Mons
Disibodi, or Dysenberg, twelve canons were placed
" ad numerum xn. apostolorum."
9. S. EJiabanus Maurus, at Fulda, had 270 monks, "inter
quos juxta numerum Apostolorum XII. viri erant
prse ceteris doctissimi."
JO. Mons S. Victor, a cell of St. Gall, founded for twelve
Irish pilgrims.
11. S. Colman Finn, cum suis sociis XII. in Morthreabh
Corcnea. — (Litan.' Aengus, Colgan, Act. SS., p. 539.)
12. SS. Conchennacii xn., qui cum utroque Sinchello
jacent in Kill-achuidh (ibid.)
13. S. Finniani xn. discipuli in Ard-brendomnuigh
(ibid.)
14. Episcopi xn. habitatores Killachiee Dromfhodse apud
Falgheides (ibid.)
15. Meuthi, an Irish hermit in Wales, with twelve
ministers.
16. Monymusk, where was a college, of twelve Culdees and
a prior.
e
Ixxiv INTRODUCTION.
III. — DIOCESAN.
1. Pope Gregory wrote to St. Augustine of Canterbury,
directing : " Per loca singula xii. episcopos ordines
qui tuse subjaceant ditioni. Ad Eburacam vero
civitatem te volumus episcopum mittere ; ita dun-
taxat, ut si eadem civitas cum finitimis locis
verbum Dei ' receperit, ipse quoque xn. episcopos
ordinet, et metropolitan! honore perfruatur " (Bede
i. 29).
2. S. Cataldus ducatum in xii. episcopatus distribuens,
de suo episcopio archiepiscopatum fecit.
IV.— CAPITULAR.
1. Canterbury. — Dean and twelve canons.
2. Durham. — Dean, twelve canons, and twelve minor
canons (orig. constit.)
3. Winchester. — Dean and twelve canons.
4. Westminster. — Dean and twelve canons.
5. Windsor. — Dean and twelve canons.
6. Gloucester. — Dean, six canons, and six minor canons.
7. Bristol. — Dean, six canons, and six minor canons.
8. Norwich. — Dean, six canons, and six minor canons.
9. Aberdeen. — Bishop, and twelve canons.
V. — EDUCATIONAL.
1. S. Finnian, of Clonard, had twelve principal students,
afterwards styled the Twelve Apostles of Erin.
2. Aidan. — Eata " unus de xn. pueris Aidani, quos
primo episcopatus sui tempore de natione Anglorum
erudiendos in Christo accepit" — (Bede iii. 26)/
3. Daire-rabhne. — Duodecim >innocentes pueri in Daire-
rabhne (Litan. Aengus).
VI. — CEREMONIAL.
1. At Wilfrid's consecration, Agilberct, bishop of Paris,
" et alii undecim episcopi ad dedicationem antistitis
[Wilfridi] convenientes, multum honorifice minis-
terium impleverunt " (Bede v. 19).
2. Eanfleda, " baptizata est die sancto Pentecostes, prima
de gente Nordanhymbrorum, cum undecim aliis de
familia ejus " (Bede ii. 9).
VII. — PEREGRINAL.
1. S. Ailbhe went to Home, attended by several companies
of twelve.
INTRODUCTION. Ixxv
2. S. Barr, of Cork, was attended to Eome by twelve
companions.
3. S. Maidocus. Duodecim qui cum Maidoco Fernensi
ultra mare sunt peregrinati (litan. Aengus).
4. Laisreanus. Duodecim qui sine morbo ad aeterna
tabernacula transierunt cum S. Molassio (ibid)
5. Duodecim peregrini, quorum unum superstitem in
Insula Felis reperit Brendanus (ibid.)
6. S. Eioch. Duodecim socii S. Eiochi ultra mare (ibid)
7. Duodecim peregrini in Lethglas Mor (ibid.)
8. Duodecim qui cum Albeo mori elegerunt (ibid.)
9. S. Munna, attended by twelve of his fraternity, went
to meet the King of Leinster at Kathmor.
VIIL— MORAL.
1. Duodecim gradus humilitatis.
2. Duodecim pericula animse.
3. Duodecim abusiones sseculi.
IX.— MISCELLANEOUS.
1. Twelve citizens placed by St. Patrick in Armagh.
Kepresented by twelve burgesses in modern times.
2. Twelve pillars and twelve lamps in the Anastasis at
Jerusalem.
3. Twelve psalms to be recited.
4. Twelve hostages delivered up.
5. Si xn. ordinati viri sapientes defuerunt, xii. clericorum
inordinatorum consilium : si vero xii. clerici non
affuerunt, xii. parvulis pueris, virginibus cum muli-
eribus haut coinquinatis, judicium atque consilium
permittatur (Eees, Cambro-Brit. SS., p. 43.)
6. Twelve masons employed in Wales under an Irish
architect called Liuguri (ibid. p. 47).
X. — MULTIPLES.
1 . S. Patrick came to Ireland attended by twenty-four
companions.
2. S. Brendan visits a community consisting of an abbot
and twenty-four monks.
3. S. Ailbhe, with twenty-four men of Munster, crossed
the sea (Litan. Aengus).
4. S. Cadoc and his twenty-four disciples (Eees, Cam.-
Brit. SS., p. 61).
5. JRatisbon. — An Irish monastery, founded for twenty-
four Scots.
& Exeter cathedral, dean, and twenty-four canons.
Ixxvi INTRODUCTION.
7. York cathedral, dean, and thirty-six canons.
8. S. Cadoc appointed thirty-six canons at Nantcarban
(Kees, p. 82).
9. S. Brendan, with sixty pilgrim monks (Litan. Aengus).
1 0. 8. Leonorius went from Britain to Gaul with seventy-
two disciples.
11. S. Benedict. — "Instrumenta bonorum operum LXXII."
12. Servi Dei MCC. circa Lasreanum, ac episcopos Leth-
glinenses (ibid.)
V.
In calculating the year of St. Columba's death, it will be
granted that he died on the ninth of June : for though
Adamnan does not name the day of the month, he states the
coincidence of St. Columba's and St. Baithene's festivals, and
speaks of the Saint's decease as occurring soon after the month
of May (B. ill. c. 24). In the Feilire of ^Engus and the Koman
Martyrology, as well as those of Bede and Notker, we have
domestic and foreign testimonies agreeing with the date which
has been observed for the solemnity within the memory of man.
We learn, however, from Adamnan the following particulars,
which, taken in conjunction with the date of the festival,
determine the year with great precision : —
1. Saturday was the last day of the Saint's life.
2. He had attended the nocturnal vigils.
3. Shortly after midnight he rose for matins.
4. Which was the second service of Sunday.
5. And just as the brethren had assembled.
6. While it was still dark in the oratory, for his attendant
was obliged to feel after him, and was unable to discern his
condition till lanterns were brought.
7. That this portion of the twenty-four hours was called the
night of Sunday.
8. That, therefore, he died on Sunday.
9. That the ninth of June fell on Sunday.
Now the Eegular letter of the ninth of June is f ; therefore
F was the Sunday letter of the year. But 597 is the only year
INTRODUCTION. Ixxvii
at this period to which F belongs, that is, whose first of January
fell on Tuesday. Thus, as far as Adamnan's statements go,
the inference is very explicit, and we are freed from the uncer
tainty which Ussher expresses: "Cum media nocte Eomani
civiles suos dies et incipere soleant et terminare : num. nox
ilia media, qua Columbam decessisse diximus, diem Junii
nonum vel inchoaverit vel finierit, quaestionis quid habet."
With regard to Adamnan's language, there cannot be any
uncertainty ; for he represents the Saint as saying, while it was
yet Saturday, " hac sequenti media venerabili Dominica nocte
patrum gradiar viarn," and states of the penultimate service
which he attended, " Sanctus ad vespertinalem Dominicse
noctis missam ingreditur ecclesiam." Adamnan reckons his
day from sunset to sunset, and thus we find him, on more
than one occasion, employing a wxQij/jiepov, and making the
night of a festival precede the day. See ii. 46, iii. 12, 13, 24.
With this date agree the biographer's chronological notes, who
states that St. Columba passed over to Britain in the second
year after the battle of Culdreibhne, that is, in 563, being then
42 years old, and that he died, having completed 34 years in
his pilgrimage, thus giving 597 for his obit, and 76 years for
his age. So also Bede, who places his removal to Scotland at
565, the length of his pilgrimage 32 years, and his death, when
he was about 77 years of age.
But against this evidence may be alleged the authority of
Tighernach, who records Quies Coluimcille in nocte Dominica Pen-
tecostes v. Id. Junii, anno peregrinacionis sue xxxv. etatis vero
Ixxvii. With this statement, that he died on Wednesday, agree
the ancient Irish Life, cited in the note on B. in. c. 24,
and the Naemhsenchas, which, under the Saint's name, has Tri
cengcaidhis Colamcilli : a gen, a baihis, a bas, " Three Pentecosts
[quinquagesimas] of Colam-cille : his birth, his baptism, and
his death." Now, in 597, Whitsunday fell on the 2d of June,
but in 596 on the 10th. If, therefore, the Whitsun element
enter into the calculation, the year of the death must be
IXXVIII INTRODUCTION.
assigned to 596, and Adamnan's mode of computation be In
verted ; for, in this case, the midnight between Saturday and
Sunday must be attracted to the former in order to fit the obit
into the 9th, while, at the same time, an opposite process must
be adopted in order to identify the occurrence with the ensuing
Pentecost. This date, which seems to follow from Tighernach,
is adopted by Hermannus Contractus, who places St. Columba's
death at 596. But it is opposed to Tighernach's own calcula
tion, who assigns the Saint's birth to 520, and allows him an
age of 77 years. Dr. Lanigan accounts for this discrepancy by
supposing that " Tighernach was, probably, prepossessed with
the idea that 596 was the real year of his death, as he might
have found it marked in some elder annals, which, however,
considering their mode of computation, was, in fact, the same
as 5 9 7. Then, finding that Pentecost fell in 5 9 6 about the 9th of
June, he supposed it to be the Sunday in which Columba died."
Or, it may be urged that, as Columba's removal to Britain is said
by some to have been at Whitsuntide, Prima nox ejus in Attain
in Pentecosten, an even period was assigned to the term of his
pilgrimage, the chronicler being desirous to square the matter,
by placing the obit at the same festival. It is further to be
observed that, supposing Whitsunday to have been on the 2d,
which it most probably was, the Saint's decease was inside the
week, and was thus within the octave of Whitsuntide ; for the
festival of Trinity Sunday was not yet instituted, and Easter
and Pentecost were the two great ecclesiastical seasons of the
year. Dr. Lanigan very justly observes, that " Adamnan, who
mentions more than once this obituary Sunday, never calls it
Pentecost, which, had it been so, he would assuredly have
noticed as a very remarkable circumstance, combining the
Saint's removal to heaven with the celebration of that great
festivity."
With respect to the notation of Tighernach at this year, it
must be confessed that it contradicts the entry. For it is K.
ini., that is, that the first of January fell on Wednesday, which
INTRODUCTION.
makes E the Dominical letter, and thus refers the occurrences
under that signature to 598, two years later than is deducible
from the entries. We might suppose .iiii. by a very common
mistake put for .uii., which would mend the matter a little, and
the antecedent signatures might be treated in the same manner ;
but then the .ii. which would become M. would have .iiii. as
its antecedent, whereas a .i. is found in situ. The Annals of
Ulster record the occurrence thus, Quies Coluim cille v. Id. Jun*
anno etatis sue Ixxvi. But their signature is vii., which gives
B as the Sunday-letter, and indicates 595, the very year in
their margin, for where they say 594, they mean 595. Now it
is evident that their record of the event has been advisedly
framed ; and, therefore, it is hard to conceive on what principle
they could refer the event to so early a year. In it, Easter fell
on the 3d of April, and Whitsunday on the 22d of May, and
the 9th of June was Thursday.
The choice, then, lies between 596 and 597. To the former
Colgan and Dr. O'Conor incline ; to the latter the graver judg
ments of Ussher, OTlaherty, and Lanigan ; but the question
would not have arisen if Tighernach had not mentioned Pente
cost ; and it has been shown that, even on his high authority,
the introduction of this element into the calculation is irrecon
cilable with the explicit statements of both himself and
Adamnan.
VI.
It appears that during a century, at least, after the death of THE RELIC
St. Columba, his remains were permitted to lie undisturbed in °F SAINT
OOLUMBA.
the earth.1 Ven. Bede extends the period a little, and speaks
of the monastery of Hy "in quo ipse requiescit corpore" (iii.
4). But ere Notker Balbulus, in the tenth century, borrowed
the expression ubi requiescit, a change had taken place in the
condition of the Saint's remains. In the course of the eighth
century it is probable that his bones were disinterred, and
deposited in a shrine or shrines. And once enshrined, they
1 Locum in quo sancta pausant ossa (in. 24, p. 217).
Ixxx INTRODUCTION.
were not likely to be restored to the earth, because every
passing year would increase the veneration which led to the
first exposure. Yet we find mediaeval tradition confidently
setting forth Downpatrick as his resting-place, while an original
record of very early date claims for the neighbouring church of
Saul the honour of his interment. We might easily reconcile
these two accounts by supposing a translation from Saul, as
soon as it became a subordinate church, on the erection of
Downpatrick into a bishop's see. The fragmentary memoirs of
St. Patrick contained in the Book of Armagh were put on record
in the eighth century, and the manuscript itself was written
about the year 807, by a scribe whose death took place in 846.
Speaking of the burial of St. Patrick, they add, " Colomb cille
Spiritu Sancto instigante ostendit sepulturam Patricii ubi est
confirmat id est in Sabul Patricii id est in aeclesia juxta mare
pro undecima ubi est conductio martirum id est ossuum Columb-
cille de Britannia et conductio omnium Sanctorum Hibernise
in die judicii." This enigmatical passage seems to owe its
involved construction to the circumstance of its having been
copied from an earlier authority, in which a portion of the
matter consisted of detached explanations, in the form of in
terlinear glosses, which the copyist, on account of the peculiar
nature of his page, or for some other reason, incorporated with
the text. The following conjectural restoration is proposed, as
exhibiting the passage in a more intelligible, and possibly more
genuine form : —
Colombcille Spiritu Sancto instigante ostendit sepulturam Patricii
.i. in Sabul Patricii .i. in aeclesia juxta mare .i. ossuum
ubi est confirmat pro undecima ubi est conductio martirum Coluimb-
cillae de Brittannia et conductio omnium Sanctorum Hiberniae
in die judicii.
The words pro undecima are difficult of explanation, but they
were so at the time the manuscript was written, for the scribe
has placed in the margin opposite pro the mark of obscurity.
But whatever ambiguity may attend some words, it is plain
INTRODUCTION. Ixxxi
that conductio is employed to denote " bringing together," or
" transfer ; " as elsewhere, in the same manuscript, " meeting,"
"interview;" and that the passage expresses the belief as
existing, at the close of the eighth century, that the bones of
Columkille had, before that period, been brought to Ireland
from Britain, and deposited in Saul.
The same impression is conveyed in another but more legen
dary record, and seemingly of a later date, which also supposes
St. Columba's remains to have been conveyed into the inner
most part of Strangford Lough, in the county of Down, and
merely differs in making Downpatrick the destination instead
of the neighbouring church of Saul. O'Donnell's account of
the matter is thus translated by Colgan : —
" Pro operis hujus coronide (quod minime debuit silentio per-
transiri) hie subjicio quomodo corpus hujus S. Patriarchae in Monas-
terio Hiensi prius sepultum, fuerit in Hiberniam postea translatum,
et in eodem sepulchre cum sacris exuviis Sanctorum Patricii et
Brigidae recondition. . . . Sufficiat memorare modum et occasionem
factae Translationis, quam hoc modo S. Berchanus contigisse refert.
Manderus films Kegis Daniae, et Nortmannorum pyraticse classis
Dux, ferro et flamraa septemtrionales Britannise partes devastans,
venit ad lonam insulam, ubi sacra prophanis Sathanae Satellites
miscentes : direptis omnibus, quae occurrerant, terram hinc inde
fodiunt, latentes, ut putabant, thesauros inquirentes ; ac inter alia
effodiunt Sarcophagum seu arcam, in qua verus erat, licet non cui
illi inhiabant, thesaurus, nempe S. Columbae corpus. Arcam ad
navem portant, quam postea versus Hiberniam tendentes aperiunt :
et turn nihil inclusum, praeter hominis ossa, ac cineres, reperiunt,
clausam in mare projiciunt ; quae Dei nutu, Oceani fluctibus agitata,
et per undas injecta, reperitur in sinu maris Dunensi urbi vicino,
undis supernatans. Quam sic repertam, et divina revelatione agni-
tam, aperiens Abbas Monasterii Dunensis, sanctum thesaurum area
extractum, in eisdem lipsanis cum Divorum Patricii, et Columbse
[recte Brigidae] sacris exuviis recondidit." — (Colgan, Tr. Th. p. 446 a.)
. The earliest recorded descent of the Northmen on Hy is 802,
which is only five years anterior to the writing of the Book of
Armagh.
Notwithstanding this reputed interment, whether in Saul or
Down, we find that on the occasion of St. Blaithmac's martyr-
Ixxxii INTRODUCTION.
dom, in 825, St. Columba's shrine, which was adorned with
precious metals, was the chief object of the murderous North
men's search ; so Walafridus Strabus states :
" Ad sanctum venere patrem, pretiosa metalla
Eeddere cogentes, queis sancti sancta Columbae
Ossa jacent, quam quippe suis de sedibus arcam
Tollentes tumulo terra posuere cavato,
Cespite sub denso gnari jam pestis iniquse :
Hanc praedam cupiere Dani.' — (Vita S. Blaithmaic.)
How soon, or by whom, the shrine was brought to light from
its place of concealment, is not recorded ; but we know that it
was soon after removed to Ireland, for in 878 it was transferred,
together with all St. Columba's minna, to Ireland, for security
from the Danes, where it probably remained. Now, it is re
markable, that whereas we hear of Adamnan's relics at 727,
730, within twenty-four years after his death, we find no men
tion of St. Columba's till eighty years afterwards. Possibly,
indeed, in the promulgation of the Lex Coluimcille in 753, 757,
778, his shrine may have been borne about as the warrant for
the exaction of this religious tribute, and thus an indirect
evidence of the enshrining may be afforded. After 878 we
hear no more of this shrine till 1127, when we find the Danes
of Dublin carrying it off, and restoring it, possibly stripped of
its gold and silver, at the end of a month. Tighernach, at 976,
records the plundering of Serin Coluimcille, but this violence
appears to have been offered to the church of Columba's shrine,
namely, Skreen in Meath, where the precious reliquary may
have been deposited. In 1152, the mionna or r cliques of St.
Columba were employed in conjunction with the great reli
quary of Armagh, the Bachall Jesu, in the solemnization of a
compact ; but the reference in that case seems to be to the
Soscela Martain, or " St. Martin's Gospel," which will be noticed
further on as being the great heirloom of the monastery of
Deny.
Meanwhile, a fresh competitor for the honour of possessing
INTRODUCTION. Ixxxiii
St. Columba's remains arose in Pictland, for according to the
Pictish Chronicle, Kenneth Mac Alpin, " septimo anno regni reli-
quias S. Columbae transportavit ad ecclesiam quam construxit "
(Pict. Chron.) To which an English record adds : " Sanctus
Columcylle requiescit in loco dicto Duncahan juxta fluvium
Tau."1 Hence Pinkerton draws the conclusion, " It is
evident that Duncahan is Duncaldan, or Dunkeld, upon the
river Tay; so that the Irish vainly contend that his bones
were carried to Ireland, though, perhaps, his crosier, or
some other relics, may have been conveyed thither." Father
Innes declares, "It is the constant tradition and belief
of the inhabitants of Ycolmkill and of the neighbourhood at
this day, that St. Columba's body lies still in this island, being
hidden by pious people, at the time of the new Eeformation,
in some secure and private place in or about the church, as it
used frequently to be in former ages during the ravages of the
infidel Danes ; and not only the inhabitants of Ycolmkill, and
those of all our Western Islands, and of all the Highlands in
general, but all the Scots look upon the pretended translation
of St. Columba's body to Ireland as fabulous." But this is
declamation : for in the next page the writer adduces evidence
for a translation to Dunkeld. The rational statement is this :
— The grave of St. Columba is in Hy, where his remains were
suffered to lie till a century had passed. Meanwhile his dust
had mingled with the earth, and dust with dust continues there
to this day : but where that grave is, there is no satisfactory
evidence to show ; and tradition, which claims for the island
the custody of the body, fails, as might be expected, to point
out the spot where it lies. It was the custom in the eighth
century, particularly in the Irish Church, to disinter and en
shrine the tangible remains of the founders of religious houses.
There are explicit records of the very years when such pro
cesses took place; and that St. Columba's remains were
dealt with in like manner, is a priori to be expected, and in
1 See Hickes, Thes. ii. 117. for the original of this passage.
INTKODUCTION.
fact proved. The shrine in which these bones were deposited
subsequently became the title-deed of the Columbian com
munity, and was from time to time taken over to Ireland as
the warrant for levying religious contributions. But it soon
became exposed to fresh danger : for the costliness of the shrine
which veneration for the founder's memory had suggested,
excited the cupidity of the roving Northmen ; and Ireland
became the permanent asylum of these reliques, until it in
turn suffered from the same scourge, and even its midland
remoteness proved no security against the restless Danes. It
is possible that, during these constant removals of the shrine,
portions of the reliques may have been taken out, and under
the compulsion of power, or the inducements of patronage, have
been shared with other churches; thus probably Kenneth
Mac Alpin came by his share ; and thus, too, the Irish Screens
by their name. But the gold and silver, which affection
had lavished on the original shrine, contributed to defeat its
own object in the end, and subjected the shrine to the fate
from which its fellow, the Great Gospel of Kells, had so nar
row an escape — the shell abstracted, and the substance cast
away.
It is further to be observed, that the veneration for St.
Columba's remains was not confined to Ireland and Scotland :
the cathedral of Durham also claimed to be the depository of at
least a portion of his relics. This appears from a catalogue of
the relics at Durham, written in the fourteenth century, in
which we find the entry : " De ossibus et reliquiis Sancti Colum-
kelli abbatis."1 A representation of the Saint was painted also
on the screen- work of the altar of St. Jerome and St. Benedict,
in the same church, with the inscription, " Sanctus Columba
monachus et abbas."2
In connexion with the history of Columkill's remains, the
antiquary may desire to have a catalogue of those articles
which tradition invested with the repute of having been es-
1 Hist. Dun. Script. Tres., p. ccccxxix., Surt. Soc.
2 Des. An. Mon. Ch. of Durham, p. 115, Surt. Soc.
INTRODUCTION. IxXXV
teemed or used by the Saint. Adamnan makes mention of a
Hymnal, which was preserved in Ireland (n. 8, p. 43); and of a
White Pebble, which was used as a charm among the Picts
(n. 34, p. 59) ; also of Books written by him, and the White
Tunic he wore at the time of his death, which were preserved
in Hy (n. 45, p. 74). Some of these were afterwards lost, but
later writings have furnished us with the names of others which
do more than supply their place. Thus, among the alleged com
positions of St. Columba contained in the Laud MS., is a poem
in the form of a dialogue between him and Baithene Mor,
son of Guana, on the subject of his chief reliques, to wit, the
Great Cross, the Cathach, and his Cowl. Besides these, there
were others of lesser note, which will presently be noticed.
1. THE GREAT CROSS. — The following is the account of it in
the Preface to St. Columba's hymn, Altus Prosator: —
" At a time that Columcille was in Hy, without any attendant,
but Baithene only, it was revealed to him that guests had arrived,
namely, seven of Gregory's people, who had come to him from
Eome with gifts, to wit, the Great Gem of Columcille (which is a
cross at the present day), and the Hymns of the Week, that is [a
book with] Hymns for each night of the week, and other gifts."—
(Colgan, Tr. Th., p. 473).
The date of Gregory the Great's accession is Sept. 3, 590, within
seven years of which this alleged occurrence may be supposed
to have taken place. In O'Donnell the circumstances of the
gift are told more in detail, and he ends the account by saying
that the reliquary was preserved, at the time when he wrote
(1532), in the island of Tory : " Estque illud celebre monumen-
tum quod in Torachia occidua Hiberniae insula in memoriam
Columbse asservatum Crux magna vulgo appellatur" (ib. p. 412).
This altar cross is not now known to exist, but from the descrip
tion it would seem that it was cased in metal, and adorned with
crystal bosses, like the cross of Cong preserved in the Museum
of the Eoyal Irish Academy.
2. THE CATHACH.— This name, which is interpreted Prceliator,
is derived from cath, " battle," for the reason given by O'Don
nell in the passage cited at p. xlii, supra. It is questionable
IxXXVi INTRODUCTION.
whether the writing of the manuscript be as old as St. Columba's
age, though its claim to be considered in the handwriting of
St. Columba derives some weight from the great veneration in
which it was formerly held, notwithstanding the total absence
of decoration. It is a curious particular in its contents, that
the reading of Psal. xxxiii. 11, differs from that which is cited
by Adamnan as the subject of St. Columba's last act of pen
manship. Of the silver case, which is now its most attractive
feature, it is unnecessary to offer any description here, as a de
tailed account, with drawings sufficiently accurate to give a
fair idea of its structure, can easily be consulted.1 The inscrip
tion, however, which runs along three sides of the margin of
the under surface, is worthy of being correctly recorded : —
Oroit do CatJibarr ua Domnaill las i ndernad in cumtach \sa\
7 do Sittriuc mac meic Aeda do rigne 7 do Dom [nail] mac Eola
rtaig do comarla Cenansa las i ndernad.
Which may be interpreted : —
ORATIO PRO CATHBARRO UA DOMNAILL PER QUEM FACTUM EST TO
COOPERIMENTUM HOC, ET PRO SITRICO FILIO FILII AIDI QUI FECIT,
ET PRO DOMNALLO MAC ROBARTAIGH PRO COMARBANO KENLISLE
PER QUEM FACTUM EST.
Cathbarr O'Donnell, son of Gillachrist [ob. 1038], son of
Gathbarr, son of Domhnall Mor, the progenitor of the O'Donnells,
was chief of the Cinel Luighdech, and died in 1 106. Domhnall
Mac Eobhartaigh, successor of Columba at Kells, died, accord
ing to the Four Masters, in 1098. His name occurs also in
the charters which are entered in the blank pages of the Book
of Kells.2 Sitric was son of Mac JEdha, who was surnamed
Cerd, that is, " Artificer," in the Charters of Kells, where men
tion is made of Fland mac Mic Aedha also. The family of
Mac Aedha seem to have been the hereditary mechanics of
Kells. It is interesting to observe the relation here recorded
as subsisting, through the Columbian system, between remote
parts of Ireland: O'Donnell being lord of a territory in the
1 Betham's Ant. Res., i. p. 109. 2 Misc. Ir. Ar. Soc., pp. 130, 140.
INTRODUCTION. Ixxxvii
extreme north of the island, yet associated with the abbot of a
midland monastery; and that abbot the member of a family
which also was seated in the remote north, supplying herenachs
to two churches in St. Columba's region of Tirconnell, and
occasionally appearing in the administration of St. Columba's
church of Derry. In 1497 the Cathach was employed for mili
tary purposes, but failed of procuring victory for its possessors.
Con O'Donnell led an army into Moylurg in Connaught, to
attack Mac Dermott, but was defeated at the battle of Bealach-
buidhe. Mac Kobhartaigh, the keeper [maor] of the Cathach
of Columcille, was slain, and the Cathach taken from the
Tirconallians. Two years after, it was restored. — (Four Mas
ters.) In the early part of the sixteenth century it was still
the great reliquary of Tirconnell ; and in the following century
it continued to be in the custody of the family of Mac Eobhar-
taigh, the official keepers under the Lord of Tirconnell. When
it reappears in the next century, it is found in the posses
sion of the head of the O'Donnell family, who recorded
his guardianship in an inscription on the silver frame which he
made for its preservation: IACOBO 3. M. B. REGE EXULANTE,
DANIEL 0 DONEL IN XTIANISSO0 IMP0 PRCEFECTUS REI BELLICCE
HUSUSCE HCERADITARII SANCTI COLUMBANI PIGNORIS VULGO CAAH
DICTI TEGMEN AEGENTEUM VETUSTATE CONSUMPTUM RESTAURAUIT
ANNO SALUTIS 1723. This most remarkable reliquary, com
bining so many exciting associations, is the property of Sir
Eichard Annesley O'Donnell, Bart., a descendant of the Cath-
barr Ua Domhnaill, whose name is engraved upon the case,
between whom and the present possessor four-and-twenty
generations of this illustrious house have passed by. The Caah
is at present in the Museum of the Eoyal Irish Academy,
through the liberal indulgence of its distinguished owner.
3. THE CocEALL.—Cochall is the Irish form of cuculla, a
word which occurs in the text at p. 168, where there is evi
dence to show that, even so early as Adamnan's time, the
garment expressed by it was supposed to have been endowed
Ixxxviii INTRODUCTION.
with supernatural virtue. The old Irish Life, treating of St.
Columba's reception at Kells, by Aedh Slaine, proceeds to say :
" He consecrated, therefore, a cowl for him ; and he said that
he could not he wounded while he had it on him. Aedh Slane,
however, committed fratricide, contrary to Columcille's admonition,
on Suibhne, son of Colman. At the end of four years he went on
an expedition. He forgot his cowl. He was slain that day."
The legend in the Book of Lecan, cited at p. 39 (Orig. Ed.),
represents Aedh, son of Ainmire, as the recipient of the favour.
O'Donnell copies both statements, and exhibits the two Aedhs
as provided respectively with charmed vestments.
4. THE CUILEBADH. — The Annals of Ulster, at 1034, record
that—
" Macnia Ua hllchtain, lecturer of Kells, was lost on his voyage
from Scotland ; and Columcille's Culebadh, and three of Patrick's
reliques, and thirty men with him."
The old English version, suppressing the first syllable of the
word in question, and reading lebar for the rest, translates it
" booke ;" while the Eour Masters omit the preceding conjunc
tion, and, dismembering the word, read cu lebhadh, cum lecto,
thus referring us to the "nuda petra" of p. 213. This liberty
they took with the original, not knowing, it would seem, what
culebadh meant. They found the word again in the following
passage of the Annals of Ulster, which relates an outrage
committed by Tighernan O'Euairc in 1128, but they have
omitted the whole passage :
" The successor of Patrick was openly outraged in his presence ;
for his retinue were plundered, and some of them were killed ; and
a clerical student of his own people, who bore a culebadh, was
slain there."
Thus it appears that the word was a general term. We are
brought a step further towards the meaning of it by a passage
in the Preface to the Amhra Coluim-cille :
" And the way that Columcille came was, with a cere-cloth
over his eyes, and his culpait over that, and the hood of his cowl
over that ; so that he should neither behold the men nor women
of Erin."
INTRODUCTION. Ixxxix
O'Donnell gives the legend, with the addition that means
were taken to prevent Columba from setting foot on Ireland,
but he omits the desired word :
" There was a sod of the earth of Alba under his feet :
There was a cere- cloth over his eyes :
There was his woollen- cap drawn over that :
There was his hood, and his cowl, over these outside."
The Annals of Tighernach, at 1090, have the following
curious entry :
" The reliquaries of Columcille, viz., the Bell of the Kings, and
the Cuillebaigh, came from Tirconnel, with 120 ounces of silver,
and Aongus O'Domnallain was the one who brought them from
the north [to Kells]."
There remains another notice of this monastic habit, in an
extravagant tale called, " The Sea-wanderings of Snedgus and
Mac Eigail, two of Columcille's priests :"
" And the bird gave a leaf of the leaves of that tree to the
clerics, and it was as large as the hide of a great ox ; and told the
clerics to take it with them, and place it on the altar of Columcille.
And that is the Cuilefaidh of Columcille at this day. And it is at
Kells that it is."
In the foregoing extracts the word is variously written cule-
ladh, cuilebadh, culpait, and culefaidh ; and in a curious diagram
which occurs in a tract on Ogham-writing in the Book of
Ballymote, we find the word cuilibad in conjunction with the
names Colum cilli and Ceallach. Cormac's Glossary, cited by
O'Eeilly, explains culpait quasi cail fuit or fuaclit, " a defence
from cold." Still there is good reason for supposing that, as
cochall is the Irish form of cuculla, so culebadh is of cololium,
and that it represents the tunica of p. 188.
5. DELG AIDECHTA. — The legend of St. Columba's visit to
Eome, mentioned in the Notes on B. in. c. 9, has the following
passage :
" Columcille tarried with Gregory, and brought Gregory's brooch
away with him, and it is the Testamentary Brooch of the Coarb
of Columcille to this day. And he left his style with Gregory."
XC INTRODUCTION.
This delg probably belonged to that class of ornament of
which so many and such beautiful specimens have been found
in Ireland.
6. MOR BACHALL. — The pastoral staff, which St. Columba
confided to Scanlann, prince of Ossory, on the occasion of his
liberation after the convention of Drumceatt.
" Pedum suum ei tradit, tanquam in lubrico verum baculum, et
in omni adversitate prsesidium; in Domino fideliter promittens
ipsum illius munimine, earn virtutem Christo conferente, per ob-
jecta pericula salvum et incolumem evasurum, et monens ut ipsum
demum baculum S. Laisreno discipulo suo, Monasterii Darmagensis
tune rectori, retradat."— (Vit. iii. 13, Colg. Tr. Th., p. 433 b.)
From the last line we learn that this reliquary was preserved
in Durrow.
7. CAMBO KENTIGERNI. — Jocelin gives an account of a visit
which St. Columba paid to his celebrated contemporary, St.
Kentigern of Glasgow, and, having related a miracle performed
by the latter, proceeds to say :
" In illo loco ubi istud miraculum per Sanctum Kentegernum
factum, in conspectu Sancti Columbse, et aliorum multorum, inno-
tuit; alter alterius baculum, in pignus quoddam et testimonium
mutuse dilectionis, in Christo suscepit. Baculus vero quern Sanctus
Columba dederat Sancto pontifici Kentegerno, in ecclesia Sancti
Wilfridi episcopi et confessoris apud Bipum, multo tempore conser-
vabatur ; et propter utriusque sanctitatem, dantis videlicet et reci-
pientis, magnae reverentise habebatur." — (Vit. Kent., c. 40.)
We further learn from Fordun (Bowar) that, at the com
mencement of the fifteenth century, this reliquary was still to
be seen at Eipon :
" Ac nunc cambo, quern beatus Kentigernus a beato Columba
receperat, in ecclesia Sancti Wilfridi de Bipoun, aureis crustulis
inclusus, ac margaritarum diversitate circumstellatus, cum magna
reverentia adhuc servatur." — (Scotichron., iii. 30.)
8. GOSPEL OF MARTIN, — Concerning this reliquary the old
Irish Life briefly says :
" He went at another time from Deny to Tours of Martin, and
brought away the Gospel that lay on Martin's breast in the ground
for a hundred years, and he left it in Derry."
INTRODUCTION. XC1
In the twelfth century it was the chief reliquary of the
church of Derry, and we find recorded in the Annals of Ulster,
at 1166, the violation of a contract which had been solemnized
in presence of the Coarb of Patrick with the Bachall Jesu, and
of the Coarb of Columcille with the Gospel of Martin. But it
was lost soon after; for, in 1182, "Donnell, son of Hugh
O'Loughlin, marched with an army to Dunbo, in Dal-Eiada,
and there gave battle to the English. The Kinel-Owen were
defeated ; and Eandal O'Breslen, Gilchreest O'Kane, and many
others, were killed. On this occasion the English carried off
with them the Gospel of St. Martin." The legend concerning
the invention of this manuscript is borrowed by 0 'Donnell
from the Acts of St. Eugenius of Ardstraw and St. Mochonna,
or Machar, the patron saint of Aberdeen. It relates that the
people of Tours had lost the clue to the exact spot where St.
Martin's remains were buried, and that on the occasion of St.
Columba's visiting their city they applied to him to point out
the place where the body of their patron saint lay, which he con
sented to do on condition that he should receive for his portion
everything found in the grave, except the bones of Martin.
" Conditione facile admissa, vir Sanctus locum, in quo sacrum
corpus jacebat, indigitat, in eoque mox defosso simul cum deside-
ratis exuviis cum Missarum reperiretur liber; factse sponsionis
Turonenses prope pcenituit, detrectantes inventum Missale Columbae
poscenti consignare, nisi ille priori beneficio alteram adhuc adderet
gratiam, et Turonensi Ecclesiae administrandae aliquem e suis sociis
virum sanctum et idoneum prseficiendo relinqueret. Quod ipsum
posteaquam vir Sanctus annuerat, et Sanctum illis Mochonnam
velut jam antea a summo Pontifice pro Turonensi sede destinatum,
prsesentarat, assecutus est desideratum B. Martini librum." 1
Now, though it is very unlikely that St. Columba ever
travelled beyond the British islands, the above legend is inter
esting as an indication of the early connexion which existed
between Ireland and the church of Tours. St. Martin is repre
sented as St. Patrick's grand-uncle, and as a principal agent in
his mission to Ireland. In the next age his body is reported
1 Colgan, Tr. Th., p. 436 a.
XC11 INTRODUCTION.
to have been discovered by the great monastic patron of Ire
land, and his ritual transferred from Tours to Derry. And in
later times the holy wells of Derry, called Tobar Martain, Tobar
Adhamhnain, and Tobar Coluim, preserved the local association
of his name with those of the fathers of the Columbian order.
Another account of the origin of this ancient manuscript (for
that such a book, whether Martin's or Patrick's, was preserved
in the diocese of Derry, is unquestionable) is, that it had be
longed to St. Patrick, who, as the Tripartite Life says, when
" morti vicinus, librum Evangeliorum, quo ipse dum viveret,
utebatur, illi velut Euangelii observantissimo cultori, testa-
mento legaverit, ex suo etiam in Ardmachia successori manda-
verit certain quotannis pensionem pro eodem seponere. Prse-
fatus vero Euangeliorum codex ad Columbse manus devenit,
sive illi fuerat per S. Brigidam Virginem, penes quam depositus
scribitur, consignatus ; sive, quod aliqua habent exemplaria,
Angelico illi ministerio allatus ex D. Patricii tumulo, in quo
jubente Patricio, ne in aliquas iniquas manus incideret, conditus
existimatur."1 To the discovery of the manuscript in St.
Patrick's grave, the following entry in the Annals of Ulster,
copied from a chronicle called the Book of Guana, refers :
"The relics of Patrick were enshrined sixty years after his
death by Columcille. Three precious reliquaries were found in
the tomb, sc. the Cup, the Angel's Gospel, and the Bell of the
Will. The angel directed Columcille to divide the three reliquaries
thus: the Cup to Down, the Bell of the Will to Armagh, the Gospel
of the Angel to Columcille himself. And it is called the Gospel
of the Angel, because Columcille received it at the Angel's hand."
O'Donnell has transferred this anecdote into his narrative,
which Colgan has imperfectly translated. That the Gospel of
St. Martin and the Gospel of the Angel were supposed to be
identical, appears from a poem in the Laud MS. (p. 81) begin
ning Taiscfidter mo shoiscela, " My gospel shall be preserved," in
which St. Patrick is represented as describing the future great
ness and holiness of St. Columba; where the gloss remarks
that the Gospel of St. Martin is alluded to.
1 Colgan, Tr. Th. , p. 390 b.
INTRODUCTION. xciii
9. BOOK OF DURROW. — Thus noticed by Archbishop Ussher :
" In Regio comitatu ea est, Durrogh vulgo appellata : quae
monasterium habuit S. Columbse nomine insigne ; inter cujus
KeifjLij\ui evangeliorum codex vetustissimus asservabatur, quern
ipsius Columbse fuisse monachi dictitabant : ex quo, et non minoris
antiquitatis altero, eidem Columbse assignato, quern in urbe Kelles
sive Kenlis dicta Midenses sacrum habent, diligenti cum editione
vulgata Latina collatione facta, in nostros usus variantium lectionum
binos libellos concinnavimus."1
Henry Jones, Bishop of Meath, subsequently became possessed
of it, and presented it to Trinity College, Dublin, of which
institution he was Vice-Chancellor. The silver-mounted case
in which this book was preserved has been lost ; but its absence
is the less to be deplored, as a record of the inscription which
it bore is entered, in the handwriting of the famous Koderic
OTlaherty, on the fly-leaf of the manuscript :
" Inscriptio Hibernicis literis incisa cruci argentese in operimento
hujus Libri in transversa crucis parte, nomen artificis indicat ; et
in longitudine tribus lineis a sinistra et totidem dextra, ut se-
quitur :
>|< OROIT ACUS BENDACHT CHOLUIMB CHILLE DO FHLAND MACC
MAILSECHNAILL DO RIGH ERENN LAS A NDERNAD A CUM-
DACH SO.
" Hoc est Latine :
^ ORATIO ET BENEDICTIO S. COLUMB^ CILLE SIT FLANNIO FILIO
MALACHLE REGI HIBERNLE QUI HANG (OPERIMENTl) STRUC-
TURAM FIERI FECIT.
" Flannius hie Rex Hibernise decessit 8 Kal. Maii et die Sabbati
ut in MS. Cod. Hib. quod Chronicon Scotorum dicitur anno serse
Christianas vulgaris 916. Hanc inscriptionem interpretatus est Ro.
Flaherty 19 Jun. 1677."
Thus it appears that the book was venerable in age, and a
reliquary in 916.
The remarkable colophon, which is cited at p. 242 (Orig.
Ed.), appears on the last page of the capitula of St. John's
Gospel, which originally closed the volume, but which has
improperly been made the twelfth folio by the hands of a
1 Brit. EC. Ant., c. 15.
XC1V LNTEODUCT10N.
modern binder. Dr. Charles O'Conor has given an excellent
facsimile of a page of this remarkable manuscript : but he has
fallen into the strange error of confounding the Book of Kells
with it, and of mixing up Lhuyd's notices of the two.1
10. BOOK OF KELLS. — This wonderful manuscript was pre
served at Kells, in the county of Meath, at the time that Arch
bishop Ussher wrote his Antiquities of the British Churches,
as appears from his words cited in the preceding article. It
had existed there for many centuries, and was traditionally
called the Book of Columcille. The costly shrine with which
it was enclosed nearly proved its destruction in the beginning
of the eleventh century, as we learn from the Annals of Ulster,
as also the Four Masters at 1006, where it is related that "the
Great Gospel of Columcille was stolen at night from the western
sacristy of the great church of Cenannus. This was the prin
cipal relic of the western world, on account of its remarkable
cover. And it was found after two months and twenty days,
its gold having been stolen off, and a sod over it." Fortunately
the manuscript itself sustained little injury (it received more
from the plough of a modern bookbinder), and in the course of
the following century its blank pages were considered a fit
depository for copies of certain charters of the eleventh and
twelfth centuries, connected with the endowments of Kells.
Archbishop Ussher became possessed of this manuscript, and
after his death it was in great danger of being lost : but it
escaped, and on the Eestoration it came, with what remained
of the Archbishop's library, "ex dono Caroli n." into the
custody of Trinity College, Dublin, where it remains, the
admiration and astonishment of every one who examines it.
11. THE MISACH. — A manuscript, but of what is unknown;
for, conversely to the fate of the Books of Kells and Durrow,
the case remains, but its contents are gone. The custody of
this reliquary was hereditary in the family of O'Morison, who
1 Her. Hib. SS., vol. i., Ep. N. p. 180, and Prol. p. 185.
INTRODUCTION. XCV
were the herenachs of Clonmany, a parish in Inishowen, and it
continued in their possession till the abolition of the old church
tenures reduced them to a state of penury, and they were
induced to part with it. The case is of wood, overlaid with
wrought silver, and is ornamented with ecclesiastical figures
resembling those on the case of the Cathach, as may be seen
in the published drawing.1 An inscription in two lines appears
on the upper side in these words :
Brian mac Briain i Muirgiussa d
o cumdaig me A. D°. M°CCCCC°XXXIIII.
" Brian, son of Brian O'Muirguissan, covered me,
Anno Domini 1534."
The keeper of the reliquary in 1609 was Donogh O'Morison,
who was a juror at an inquisition sped that year at Lifford,
where it was found that a quarter named Donally was " free to
Donnogh O'Morreesen, the abbots' corbe and the busshop
Derrie's herenagh of those three quarters : that the other three
quarters of the said six quarters church land were given by the
ODogherties and ODonnells to Collumkill, as a dedication
towards his vestiments when he went to warre, which said
three quarters, beinge free, were given to the auncestors of the
said Donogh O'Morreeson, whoe in those daies were servaunts
to Collumkills : and in the said parishe are sixe gortes of glebe,
whereof three gortes belonge to the viccar, and thother fower
gortes to the keeper of the missagh or ornaments left by
Columkill." By this it appears that the word misach, being
interpreted "ornaments," was supposed to be the plural of
maise, "an ornament," and not derived, as the form of the
word would indicate, from mis, " a month." This interesting
reliquary having often changed hands, and having been carried
away to England, finally became the property of the present
Earl of Dunraven, who generously presented it to the College
of St. Columba near Dublin, where it is now preserved. The
following extract from an ancient tale, called The Death of
1 Betham, Ant. Res., i. 213.
XCV1 INTRODUCTION.
Muircertach mac Erca, contains the earliest allusion to this
reliquary : —
" Cairnech blessed them, and left them gifts, i.e. to the Clanns
Conaill and Eoghain. That when they should not be chiefs, or
kings of Erin, their influence should extend over every province
around them ; and that the coarbship of Ailech, and Tara, and
Ulster, should be with them ; and that they should not accept hire
from any one, because the sovereignty of Erin was their own in
herent right ; and that their hostages should not be locked up,
and that decay should come upon the hostages who should abscond ;
and that they should have victory in battle, if fought in a
just cause, and that they should have three standards, viz., the
Cathach, and the Bell of Patrick, i.e. the Bell of the testament, and
Cairnech1 s Miosach ; and that the virtue of all these should be on
any one reliquary of them in time of battle, as Cairnech bequeathed
them ; ut dixit" etc.
12. DUBH DUAIBSEACH. — A bell, which St. Columba is fabled
to have employed in his conflict with the demons of Sengleann.1
It was probably preserved in the parish of Glencolumkille, in
Donegal.
13. GLASSAN. — A bell, which formerly belonged to Drum-
columbkille in Sligo, and was reputed to hava been given by the
Saint to his disciple Finbarr, the first minister of that church.2
14. DUBH DIGLACH.— A bell of St. Columba's, mentioned in
an old poem of the Laud manuscript (p. 28).
1 5. CLOCK KUADH.— The "Bed Stone," about which O'Donnell
records the strange legend : " Simul etiam cum partu enixa est
mater [Columbse] quasi lapillum quendam rubrum, vulgo Clock
Euadh dictum, teretemque mali aurei magnitudine, qui in eodem
prsedio religiose asservatur."3 The Donegal Inquisition of 1609
finds that two gorts in Gartan were held by " O'Nahan, who
carrieth Collumkillie's read stoane." In the Laud MS. (p. 95)
there is a poem ascribed to St. Columba on the virtues of the
Eed Stone, wherewith he banished the demons from Sengleann.
O'Donnell calls the latter a "blue stone, and speaks of it as pre
served in Glencolumkille.4
1 6. MOELBLATHA. — The legend in the Preface to the hymn
1 Colgan, Tr. Th., p. 403 b. 2 Ib. p. 406 b. 3 Ib. p. 393 a. 4 Ib. p. 403 b.
INTRODUCTION. XCV11
Altus Prosator (Leabhar Breac, fol. 109 a), speaking of the mill
at Hy, says : —
" Then Columkille himself lifted up the sack from the stone which
is in the refectory at Hy, and the name of that stone is Moelblatha ;
and he left prosperity on all food which should be placed upon it."
This may, in after times, have been one of the Black Stones of Hy
which Martin makes mention of as objects of religious awe.
17. BRECBANNOCH. — Between the years 1204 and 1211, King
William the Lion granted to the monks of Arbroath " custodiam
de Brachbennoche," and " cum predicta Brechbennoche terram
de Forglint datam Deo et sancto Columbe et le Brachbennache,"
on the tenure " faciendo inde servicium quod michi in exercitu
debetur de terra ilia cum predicta Brachbennache." This
grant is recited in the charter of Arbroath, passed by the same
king in 1211-1214; and substantially repeated in a confirma
tion by King Alexander II. in 1214-1218. In 1314 the con
vent grants to Malcolm of Monimusk " totam terram nostram
de Forglen que pertinet ad Bracbennach cum omnibus pertin-
enciis suis una cum jure patronatus ecclesie ejusdem terre.
. . . Dictus vero Malcolmus et heredes sui facient in exer
citu domini Eegis nomine nostro servicium pro dicta terra quod
pertinet ad Bracbennach quociens opus fuerit."1 From the
Monimusks the lands of Forglen, with the custody of the
Bracbennach, passed by inheritance to the Urrys and the
Frasers, in the latter of which families they were found in 1388.
In 1411 they were surrendered to the convent, and about 1420
they were conferred on Sir Alexander Irvine of Drum. In
~1$47 they had passed to his grandson, who held them of the
abbot and convent by service of ward and relief, and " ferendi
vexillum de Brekbennach in exercitu Eegis," and the payment
of the annual rent of 40 shillings. In 1481 Alexander Irvine
did homage for these lands and purtenances to the abbot, who
" dixit et constituit ut tenentes regalitatis dicti monasterii de
1 Reg. Vet. Aberbrothoc, pp. 10, 5, 73, 296 ; Collections of Aberdeen,
pp. 511-514, 515-516, 517.
XCVlll INTRODUCTION.
Aberbrothoc ubicumque existentes cum dicto Alexandra ad
exercitum domini nostri Eegis sub le Brecbennoch videlicet sub
vexillo dictorum abbatis et conventus meabunt et equitabunt
cum requisiti fuerint per dictum dominum abbatem et conven-
tum dicti monasterii et suos successores pro defensione Eegis
et regni." In 1483 Alexander Irvine had a charter of the lands
of Forglen, with the advowson of the church " faciendo in ex-
ercitu domini nostri Eegis servicium de le Brekbannach debitum
et consuetum." And lastly, in 1494 it was found that Alex
ander Irvine was the lawful heir of Alexander Irvine of Drum,
his father, in the lands of Forglen, with the advowson of the
church, held as above. From these notices we learn that this
reliquary was a banner, and held so sacred in the beginning of
the thirteenth century that it was named in the dedication
clause of the earliest charter. Also, that it was coupled with
St. Columba's name, not because the abbey of Arbroath was
under his invocation, for it was under that of St. Thomas of
Canterbury ; nor because he was patron saint of the parish, for
St. Adamnan was reputed to be so ; but, as we may conceive,
because this banner was in some way connected with St.
Columba's history, either by use or blessing. Possibly it was
like the Vexillum Sancti CuMerti, so fatal to the Scots at
Neville's Cross.
" Ther did appeare to Johne Fossour, the Prior of the Abbey
at Durham, a vision commanding him to take the holie Corporax
Cloth, which was within the corporax, wherewith Saint Cuthbert
did cover the chalice, when he used to say masse, and to put the
same holie relique, like unto a Banner, upon a speare point." l
The name Brecbannach seems to be formed from breac
beannaighthe, " maculosum benedictum," and denoted some
thing like the bratacha breac-mergeada, pallia maculatorum
vexillorum, which were carried in the battle of Magh
Eath. The Brecbannach probably served a double purpose,
being, like the Banner of Cuthbert, " shewed and carried in
the abbey on festivall and principall daies," and also "pre-
1 Des. Anc. Mon. of Durham (Surt. Sue.), p. 20.
INTKODUCT10N. XC1X
sented and carried to any battle, as occasion should serve."
Whence King William obtained the reliquary is not stated.
Probably it had been kept in the parish of Forglen by the
hereditary tenants of the .church lands. Between 1172 and
1180 the king granted to the Canons of Holyrood the rights,
tithes, and obventions of four churches in Cantyre, which had
previously been enjoyed by the abbey of Hy ; and his grant of
this reliquary, with its appurtenances, to Arbroath, may have
been a transfer of a like nature.
18. CATH-BHUAIDH. — That is, Battle-victory. This was the
name of a crosier, the existence and veneration of which we
learn from the following passage, belonging to the year 918,
which is extracted from an anonymous collection of Irish
Annals preserved in the Burgundian Library at Brussels (7. c.
n. 17, p. 66):—
" About the same time the Fortrenns and Lochlanns fought a
battle. Bravely indeed the men of Alba fought this battle, for
Columkille was aiding them ; for they had prayed to him most
fervently, because he was their apostle, and it was through him
that they received the faith, One time, when Imhar Coming was
a young man, he came to Alba, with three great battalions, to
plunder it. The men of Alba, both lay and clerics, fasted, and
prayed till morning to God and Columcille ; they made earnest
entreaty to the Lord ; they gave great alms of food and raiment to
the churches and the poor, received the body of the Lord at the
hands of their priests, and promised to do all kinds of good works,
as their clergy would order them, and that their standard in going
forth to any battle should be the crosier of Columkille. Where
fore it is called the Cath-bhuaidh from that day to this. And this
is a befitting name for it ; for they have often gained victory in
battle by it, as they did at that time, when they placed their hope
in Columbkille. They did the same on this occasion. The battle
was bravely fought at once. The Albanians gained victory and
triumph, killed many of the Lochlanns after their defeat ; and their
king was slain on the occasion, namely, Ottir, son of larngna. It was
long after until either the Danes or Lochlanns attacked them ; but
they were at peace and harmony with them."
INTRODUCTION.
VII.
THE St. Columba's history belongs to the period of the Irish Church
OF HT when the Secundus Ordo of saints prevailed, and his name, with
those of the Brendans, Comgall, and Cainnech, whom Adanman
records with honour as his special friends, appears in the cata
logues of its worthies. This order may be regarded as the
development of a native ministry, whose system possessed more
nationality than that of their predecessors, and took a deeper
impress from the customs and condition of the country. Its
characteristics were : " Pauci episcopi, et multi presbyteri ;
diversas missas celebrabant, et diversas regulas ; unum Pascha
xiv. Luna; unam tonsuram ab aure ad aurem; abnegabant
mulierum administrationem, separantes eas a monasteriis." The
diversity of liturgical practice probably arose from the mixed
character of the Primus Ordo, which was composed of Eomans,
Francs, Britons, and Egyptians ; and their conventual discipline
varied in intensity with the tempers or ascetic habits of the
framers. They agreed, however, in their preference of the pres-
byterate ; their observance of the old-fashioned Easter ; the
anterior Eastern tonsure ; and seclusion from female society.
It is a remarkable fact that many of the monastic churches,
which grew in after times to be bishops' sees, were founded by
presbyters : Clonard, by Finnian ; Clonmacnois, by Ciaran ;
Clonfert, by Brendan ; Aghabo, by Cainnech ; Glendaloch, by
Kevin ; Lismore, by Carthach ; and Derry, Kaphoe, and Hy, by
Columba. The great promoters of the conventual system
sought no higher order than such as would enable them, con
sistently with the vows of humility, to administer the sacra
ments, and conduct the ordinary devotions of their fraternities.
The abbatial office gave them all the jurisdiction of the episco
pate, without its responsibilities ; and little more was left to
the bishop than the essence of his office, the transmission of
holy orders, with the personal reverence which was due to the
holder of so important a commission. Another element in the
Irish monastic system was its social connexions. Every great
INTRODUCTION. Cl
monastery was a centre of family relation, and served as a
school or asylum for all who were of patron's or founder's kin.
This particular was most strikingly exemplified in the case of
Hy, as may be seen in the genealogical table of the early
abbots annexed to this Introduction, which shows that the abbacy
was, with one or two exceptions, strictly limited to a branch of
the Tir-Conallian family. It shows, also, that there was no lineal
succession in Hy, as there was in many other Irish monasteries,
where secular interests so far prevailed as to make the abbacy
hereditary, and ultimately to frustrate the founder's intention
by the extinction of conventual observance, and the virtual
transference of the endowments to lay possession, as in Bangor,
or by the repetition of irregularities such as St. Bernard com
plains of in the case of Armagh.1
These sixth-century monasteries were as rapid in their
growth as they were numerous in their creation. St. Finnian's
of Clonard is said to have numbered 3000 members, St. Corn-
gall's of Bangor the same amount, and St. Brendan's parochia
3000 more. The ramifications of these houses spread exactly
in the same manner as St. Columba's, and, for a time, were fully
equal in extent to his; but they wanted the severalty of position
which the Columbian centre enjoyed ; they had no Pictish race
to convert ; and, above all, they had no Adamnan to perpetuate
the honours of their founders.
Whether St. Columba or any of his contemporaries composed
and promulgated a systematic rule like St. Benedict's is very
doubtful. Eeyner expressed his opinion in the negative ; and
though Fleming and O'Conor have condemned him for the
assertion, they have failed in proving the affirmative of the
question. Wilfrid, indeed, spoke at the synod of Whitby of
regula acprcecepta of Columba,2 and in the Lives of some of the
Irish saints the term regula occurs, but generally in the sense
of " discipline " or " observance ; " while the mention of written
rules is rare and legendary. There certainly existed, in the
middle ages, not only a great diversity in monastic practice,
1 Vit. S. Malachiae, caps. 5 and 7. 2 Berle, Hist. EC., iii. 25.
Cll INTRODUCTION.
but also an understanding that the fathers of the Irish Church
had established and denned a variety of orders. An ancient
Life of Ciaran of Clonmacnois limits them to eight, and enume
rates them under the names of " S. Patricii, Brandani, Kierani
Cluanensis, Columbae Hiensis, cujus ordo dicebatur Pulchrce
Societatis, Comgalli, Adamnani, Brigidse, Molassi seu Lisriani;"1
but the recital is evidently arbitrary, for St. Adamnan, instead
of being the author of a new rule, was unable to induce the
society of which he was ninth abbot to accept the reformed
Paschal canon. Possibly, the biographer supposed, as did
Ussher in a later age, and others after him, that the Lex of
Adamnan, Patrick, Ciaran, Brendan, etc., mentioned in the
Irish Annals, denoted formulas of monastic government. Ussher
further states that the rules of Columbakilli, Comgall, Mochutta,
and Albe were extant in the manuscript from which he pub
lished his catalogue of the saints, but " Hibernico sermone
antiquissimo exaratse et nostris temporibus pene ignorabili." 2
It was probably from this or a similar collection that the Irish
Rules, preserved in the Brussels MS., were transcribed. Through
the exertions of the Eev. Dr. Todd, copies of them have been
obtained in this country, and by his kind permission the present
writer was enabled, in 1850, to print the Eule of St. Columba
in the Appendix to Colton's Visitation of Deny (p. 109). It
differs from the others in being written in prose. They are all
very ancient compositions, but totally insufficient to convey any
definite idea of the peculiarities of the orders to which they
profess respectively to belong. Colgan, who lived before the
dispersion of Irish records, and had the best opportunity of
discovering such literary monuments, was not aware of the
existence of any other Eule of St. Columba but the one just
mentioned, and it is evident that he attached but little import
ance to it, as he has omitted to print it among St. Columba's
supposed compositions, and contents himself with stating that
he had sent a Latin translation of it to a contemporary writer.
The Eule of St. Columbanus and the Pcenitentials of him and
1 Colgan, Tr. Th., p. 471 b. a Usslier, Brit. EC. Ant, c. 17.
INTRODUCTION. ciii
Cummian, are the only remains of Irish monastic discipline
which have descended to us, and these have probably been
modified by the peculiar institutions of the countries where they
were observed ; and when they are compared with the Bene
dictine Rule, in all its beauty of piety, eloquence, and method,
it is to be wondered how a lesser light could shine beside it,
and even the one meagre Irish Rule have been transmitted to
us. When saying that Columbanus's is the only Irish Rule
which has descended to us, it may be well to mention that
Lucas Holstenius has printed two Rules — one intituled Cu-
jusdam Patris Regula ad Monachos, consisting of thirty-two
chapters ; and the other, Cujusdam Patris Eegula ad Virgines,
of twenty-four chapters — which Calmet has attributed to St.
Comgall, but Holstenius's editor to St. Columba. This, how
ever, is mere conjecture, which is not supported even by the
style or matter of the compositions. In the same collection
there is an Ordo Monasticus, purporting to be an ancient rule of
discipline, " ab antiquis monachis Scotis sub exordio susceptse
Christianas religionis observatus," and which Holstenius's editor
considers the most ancient monument of all the monks of the
West, and worthy of ranking next to the institutions of Cassian,
and the rule of Pachomius. But a document which opens, as
it does, with an account of the Culdees of Culros, and derives
the term Keledeus from cella, however venerable it may appear
to a German, must savour to a Scot of mediaeval antiquity,
especially when it is found, almost totidem vcrbis, in Ricemarch's
Life of David, as the discipline of the Menevian saint.
> It is not necessary to reprint in this Introduction the only
existing ftegula Choluim-chille, because it is a formula intended
more for a hermit than a member of a social community, and
the book in which it is printed can readily be consulted. The
following scheme, which is entirely new in its construction, is
derived principally from Adamnan, to whose narrative re
ference is made by the number of the page in the present
edition. Bede and other authorities afford some particulars of
information which are acknowledged in their place.
CIV INTRODUCTION.
1. CONSTITUTION OF THE COMMUNITY.
Conventual life was considered a special militia Christi
(133, 159), and they who adopted it were looked upon as Christi
milites (116, 215 passim), in reference to their Leader, and com-
militaries (139, 171, 173, 196) as regarded one another. Each
one professed his readiness Deo exhibere hostiam (133), by with
drawing from the cares of the world, and a willingness to enter
it only as an athleta Christi (Vit. Munnae) in the propagation of
the Gospel (Bede, iii. 3). The society, termed ccenobialis coetus
(111), or collegium monachorum (Bede, iii. 5), consisted essentially
of an Abbot and Family.
The Abbot, called abbas (113), or pater (106, 213), or sanctus
pater (1 1 5), or sanctus senior (1 1 5, 137), and, in the founder's case,
patronus (1 07, 1 1 5, 1 9 1, 2 1 1, 2 14, 2 1 6), had his seat at the matrix
ecclesia (1 1 9), which was situate in Hy, the insula primaria (1 1 1)
of his society ; but his jurisdiction equally extended over the
affiliated churches, which either he in person (116, 143, 147,
182), or his disciples (132, 135, 173) founded in Ireland
(xlix-lx) or in Scotland (Ix-lxxi), which he occasionally
visited (116, 147), and regulated (127, 187), and ministered in
(205), and whose respective Superiors, prcepositi (131, 132, 140,
163), received their charge from him (131, 143), and were
subject to his orders, even when ministering in churches of
their own foundation (132, 136). In ecclesiastical rank he was
a presbyter, and officiated at the altar (142, 201, 205, 211),
and pronounced absolution (131), but was not a bishop ; hence
he was emphatically styled abbas et presbyter. But this observ
ance, which had its origin in choice, and its continuance in
precedent, by no means implied a usurpation or disregard of
the episcopal office; for there were at all times bishops con
nected with the society, resident at Hy or some dependent
church, who were subject to the abbot's jurisdiction — that is,
who rendered him conventual obedience, agreeably to their
monastic vow ; whose acts were performed on the responsi
bility of the abbot, or in the name of the community ; and who
INTRODUCTION. CV
were assigned their stations, or called in to ordain, very much
as the bishops of the Unitas Fratrum in the present day, being
regarded as essential to the propagation of the Church rather
than its maintenance; and who, therefore, had as little authority
in the internal economy of the society as the bishop had in the
Irish monastery of Bobio, or the diocesan in the universities
of Oxford, Cambridge, or Dublin. Still the essential function
of the episcopal office was scrupulously maintained : when a
presbyter^was to be ordained, the bishop was called in ; when
a distant province was to be brought within the Christian pale,
a bishop was consecrated for the creation of a local ministry,
and successors to him ordained and sent forth from time to
time ; and when an accredited candidate came even from
Ireland to Hy, he in like manner was invested with the highest
ecclesiastical orders. Nor was this an observance of mere form,
while the office was held in low esteem ; on the other hand, the
great founder set the example of veneration for the episcopate
(152), and, as the ninth presbyter-abbot relates (142), in the
service of his own mother-church and from the altar, disclaimed
all pretensions to equality with one of episcopal rank. This
was no more than was to be expected from a presbyter who had
served as a deacon (152, 169) in a monastery where presbyters,
called from their chief function ministri altaris (152), lived
under the presidency of a bishop (152, 196) ; one who received
the hospitality of another bishop (147); one who instituted a
feast in memory of a bishop who was carus amicus (202) ; and
whose own institution was frequented by bishops from Ireland
(119, 142) for communion and edification. The abbot was wont
on extraordinary occasions to summon the brethren to the
oratory (120, 187), even in the dead of night (127), and there
address them from the altar (120, 127, 187, 202), and solicit their
prayers. Occasionally he instituted a festival, published a holi
day, and enjoined the celebration of the Eucharist (201, 202) ;
as occasion offered, he dispensed with a fast (129, 130), or relaxed
penitential discipline (127), or regulated its intensity (180). He
ff
CV1 INTRODUCTION.
gave licence of departure (119), which he signified by his bene
diction (116, 125, 126, 133, 143,155). He was saluted by pro
stration (115). He forbade, at pleasure, admission to the island
(128). When he thought fit, he despatched a chosen brother
on a distant mission (125, 132, 154, 156, 179), or for monastic
purposes (139, 153). He had the control of the temporalities
(140, 153, 180). When at home he was attended (129, 131, 135,
203, 208, 209), except when he signified his wish to be alone
(204, 206, 208). When abroad, he was accompanied by a party
(131, 134, 164, 170, 173, 174, 177, 191, 203) who were styled mri
sociales (164) ; and he preached (173) or baptized (134, 159, 173,
203) as occasion offered. The founder inaugurated the first
independent king of Scotch Dalriada in Hy (197), and the
ceremony was probably continued as an honorary function of
the abbot (213). The founder also named his own successor
(1 1 5, 2 1 3), who had been his alumnus (1 1 5, 206), and a prcepositus
(126), whose qualifications were that he was sanctus, sapiens,
affabilis, peregrinis appetibilis (115), and experienced non
solum docendo sed etiam scribendo (213). The third abbot had
been &prcepositus (131). In the election, preference was given
to founder's kin ; and hence it happened that of the eleven
immediate successors of the founder there is but one (Suibhne,
sixth abbot) whose pedigree is uncertain, and but one (Conna-
mail, tenth abbot) whose descent was confessedly from another
house. The surrender of the old Easter and Tonsure, in 7 1 6,
broke down family prescription, and henceforward the abbacy
became an open appointment. The Table annexed to this
Introduction, which has been constructed from the genealogies
in the Book of Lecan and in Colgan, will show to the reader at
a glance the connexion which existed between the early abbots,
and their relation to the royal family ; and while it proves that
abbacy was not transmitted in lineal succession, it will demon
strate the existence of clanship even in a religious community.
The Family, vernacularly called muintir, and in Latin familia
(An. Ult. 640, 690, 716, 748), consisted offratres (112, 155, 208)
or commemibrcs (187), whom the founder styled mei familiare-s
INTRODUCTION. evil
-monaehi (211, 212, 216), or mei electi monacki (183), and
endearingly addressed as filioli (171, 207, 213, 216). They
were at first twelve in number (Ixxi, 196), and natives of
Ireland ; but their society soon increased, and included Britons
(198) and Saxons (201, 209). The brethren, of tried devoted-
ness, were called senior es (188, 200) ; those who were strong for
labour, operarii fratres (210) ; and those who were under
instruction, junior es (116), alumni (208), or pueri familiares
(117). Besides the congregation, or collectio (200), of professed
members, there were generally present peregrini (133, 143, 198),
who were sometimes called proselyti (129, 132, 133, 142); or
pcenitentes(\W, 131, 180); or hospites (118, 123, 124), whose
sojourn was of varied length (133, 180, 198).
2. DISCIPLINE.
The principle of Obedience is embodied in the precept of
Columbanus, "Ad primum verbum senioris omnes ad obedi-
endum audientes surgere oportet, quia obedientia Deo exhibetur,
dicente Domino nostro Jesu Christo : Qui vos audit me audit ;"
and the measure of obedience is defined to be usque ad mortem^
It is reasonable to suppose that this essential of monastic order
was strictly observed in the Columbian system. Hence the
readiness of the brethren to prepare on the shortest notice for a
long and wearisome journey (132), or a distant and hazardous
voyage (125, 154, 156, 179), or to do the service of the monastery
(153), or to submit to exposure in out-door work, at the local
Superior's desire, during the most inclement weather (131), or to
undertake an office of responsibility, though by a nephew's
order (143). Hence the acquiescence in an injunction to intermit
a custom (204), and the severe rebuke which attended a viola
tion of his command (204, 205, 210). The obedientia sine mora
of the Benedictine Eule was evidenced in Hy by the alacrity
with which the abbot's orders were executed (145, 156, 162), and
the speed with which a distant brother forsook the church of
his sojourn, and hastened, at the abbot's call, to Hy, there to
1 Regula, cap. i.
CV111 INTRODUCTION.
abide in vera obedientia (132). Obedience, however, had its
limit to things lawful ; for Adamnan, when abbot, was unable
to effect a change in the observance of Easter.
The members had all things common. Personal property
was disclaimed, according to the injunction in Columba's here-
mitical Eule : Imnochta do gres do sechem ar Christ ocus ar na
soscela, " Be always naked in imitation of Christ, and [in obe
dience to] the precepts of the Gospel."1 Similar to this was the
maxim of Columbanus, " Nuditas et facultatum contemptus
prima perfectio est monachorum," after the precept, "si quis
vult post me venire, abneget semetipsum."2
Though St. Columba was desirous to promote conjugal happi
ness (184, 185), and he was held in veneration by the other
sex (156, 181, 184), there can be no doubt that celibacy was
strictly enjoined on his community, and the condition, " virgo
corpore et virgo mente,"3 held up for imitation. Hence we find
a monk discharging an office usually assigned to women (162),
and hence the total absence of anything like hereditary succes
sion in the abbacy of Hy. A learned and ingenious writer in
a modern journal has proved to a demonstration, from the native
Annalists, that a lineal succession of abbots existed in many of
the Irish monasteries during the ninth and following centuries,
but he has failed to include the coarbs of Columba in the class;
and a comparison of his premises with the Genealogical Table
annexed to this Introduction will show that he has mistaken
names for persons. Marriage, no doubt, existed among the
secular clergy, but the practice seems to have been disapproved
of by the regulars ; and thus we may qualify the story told of
St. Comgall's preceptor, " Quadani nocte cum Clericus ille cum
muliere dormisset ; " and Adamnan's narrative of the clericus of
Magh Breg, "dives et honoratus in plebe," who died "cum
meretrice in eodem lectulo Cubans" (138).
In their intercourse with one another, the monks of this order
appear to have been virtually regulated by the precept of Colum-
1 Eeeves's Colt. Visit., p. 109. 2 Reg., c. 4. 3 77>. c. 6.
INTRODUCTION. cix
banus, "Cura cautela et ratione loquendum est." Of such reserve
the anecdote told of the monks and Baithene (136, 137) affords
an example. Between the abbot and the brethren there seems to
have been no restraint (186, 200) ; and as regards the society at
large, the objects of their system were too practical, and their
engagements too much characterized by common sense, to im
pose any restraint in conversation but such as conduced to the
purity or decorum of the members.
Another monastic principle was Humility, which was exem
plified both in demeanour towards superiors and in dejection
after sin. A visitor on bended knees bowed down before the
founder (198) and his successor (115); and even before a sub
ordinate senior the brethren made known their wishes upon
their knees (137). The penitent fell on his knees weeping (132).
St. Benedict's injunction was " Omnibus venientibus sive dis-
cedentibus hospitibus, inclinato capite vel prostrate omni corpore
in terra, Christus in eis adoretur qui et suscipitur."1 To the
same principle may be attributed the custom which was common
to St. Benedict and St. Comgall, and which probably extended
to St. Columba, as a received observance of the time, " Si quis
frater pro quavis minima causa, ab abbate vel a quocunque
priore suo corripiatur, sine rnora tandiu prostratus in terra ante
pedes ejus jaceat satisfaciens usque dum benedictione sanetur
ilia commotio."2 St. ComgalTs Life says, "Mos erat in monas-
terio sancti patris Comgalli, ut si quis alium increparet, quamvis
Hie esset culpabilis aut inculpabilis, statim qui increpabatur
genua humiliter flecteret." 3 The strict observance of this regula
tion is exemplified by legends showing the extraordinary lengths
to which compliance with the letter of the precept was carried.
Hospitality, so leading a feature in ancient monasticism, was
developed in Hy in the fulness of national generosity : hence,
a large portion of Adamnan's anecdotes have reference to the
entertainment of strangers; and the story of the heron (145)
serves as a lively illustration of the kind reception which was
1 Reg., cap. 53. » Reg., cap. 71. 3 Cap. 23 (Flem. Coll., p. 307 6).
CX INTRODUCTION.
always in store for the visitor. "When a stranger arrived, he
was sometimes introduced at once to the abbot, by whom he
was kissed (129, 133); sometimes the interview was deferred
(115, 180). When an expected guest arrived, the abbot and
brethren went to meet and welcome him (118,132,143). He was
conducted to the oratory (117, 177, 186), and thanks returned for
his safety. From this he was led to a lodging, hospitium (133),
and water prepared to wash his feet (118). If the visitor happened
to arrive on an ordinary fast- day of the week, the fast was re
laxed in his favour (130), consolatio cibi (127) was allowed, and he
was said jejunationem solver e (130). Almsgiving was held in high
esteem (166), and the founder, on several occasions, befriended
the poor (164, 178). An instance is recorded where valuable
presents, under the name of xenia, were sent to a man in
need (140). Itinerant beggars, who went about with wallets
(165), were not held in such esteem. The monastery was
resorted to for medical relief also (130). Grievous transgressors
were excluded (128).
As regarded Divine Worship, the days of the year were either
ordinary or solennes (152, 202). On the former it is likely that
the customary cursus or synaxis was performed at the canonical
hours; for, although Adamnan is silent on the subject, the
Life of St. Cainnech mentions a case in which None was
observed in Hy, and it is not likely that the Columbian usage
would have differed from the general monastic practice of the
age. The brethren who were employed on the farm were not
required to attend during the day (136), and fatigue after their
labour would probably demand unbroken sleep at night. The
congregation was summoned to the oratory signno personate
(187, 202), that is, by the sound of the bell (120, 214), both on
stated and extraordinary occasions. Being assembled, they
proceeded to the oratory, sometimes in attendance on the abbot
(202), sometimes with less regularity (120, 214). At night they
carried lanterns with them (214).
The dies solennes were the dies Dominicce and Sanctorum
natales (190, 201), which were solemnized in the same
INTRODUCTION. Cxi
manner, by rest from labour, the celebration of the Eucharist,
and the use of better food (155). The festival commenced
after the sunset of the preceding day (190, 201, 211), and
its stated services were the Vespertinalis missa (15G, 195, 213),
Matutini (214), Prime (201), Tierce, Sext (190), and probably
None (145, 160, 179). The chief service, missarum solemnia
(139, 201, 206), was sometimes at Prime (201), or at Sext (190) :
on such an occasion the cantores (202) chanted the wonted
office, in the course of which there was a commemoration by
name of certain saints (202). In the sacra Eucharistice minis-
teria (201), also called sacra mysteria (202, 206),s#mg ollationis
mysteria (139), or obsequia (201, 202), wine (152), and water,
which was drawn by the deacon and set down in an nrceus
(152), and bread (142), were provided : the priest (139) standing
before the altar (206) proceeded to consecrate, sacra Eucharistice
consecrare mysteria (205), sacram oblationem consecrare (206),
sacra Eucharistice mysteria conficere (139), Christi corpus conftcere
(142). When several priests were present, one was selected
for the office (139, 205), who might invite a presbyter ut simul
Dominicum panemf ranger ent in token of equality (142). When
a bishop officiated at the altar, he brake the bread alone, in
token of his superior office (142). The brethren then approached
the altar, and partook of the Eucharist (180, 181).
On extraordinary occasions the abbot summoned the brethren
by the sound of the bell to the oratory (120, 187, 202), even in
the dead of night (127), on which occasions he addressed them
as they stood in their places (187), and having asked, their
prayers ($.), he kneeled down himself at the altar ($.), and
sometimes prayed with tears (ib.) Sometimes the abbot
(161, 184, 207), or a brother (207, 208), rose from his bed even
in a winter night (205, 207), and proceeded alone to the oratory
for private devotion (ib.\ and if the door was closed, prayed
outside (208). Occasionally the founder retired in the day
time to a thicket to pray (170), and even in Hy,it was his prac
tice to retire in winter nights to lonely places for prayer
(199, 205). In all these cases the secular abode was avoided ;
CXil INTRODUCTION.
but in cases of sickness the abbot was wont to pray beside the
patient's bed, in a standing (172, 173, 198) or kneeling (173)
posture.
The chief Festival was the Paschalis solemnitas (180, 210),
on which occasion the Eucharist was celebrated (181), and the
season was specially regarded as Icetitice festimtas (211). The
period which elapsed between Easter-day and Whitsunday was
called Paschahs dies (158), and it was the term of the greatest
indulgence during the year. Eor a considerable time after the
rectification of the Paschal rule in the Church of Eome, the
Columbian society tenaciously adhered to the observance of
their founder, whereby there was sometimes as much as a
month's interval between their Easter and that of other
churches; and it was not until A.D. 716 that they acquiesced
in the general practice. The Natalitium Domini (158) was
another sacred festival, for which some made preparation during
the forty days immediately preceding.
In the exercise of Fasting, the founder is said (108) to have
shown continual diligence. Every Wednesday (129) and Friday
throughout the year, except in the interval between Easter and
Whitsunday, was a fast-day, and no food was taken till the
nona, unless where the prior claims of hospitality demanded
an exception to the rule (130). Lent was strictly kept as a
preparation for Easter (181), and during this season the fast
was prolonged every day except Sunday till evening, when a
light meal, consisting of such food as bread, diluted milk, and
eggs, was taken.
The sacrament of Baptism was administered to adult con
verts, after due instruction in the faith; sometimes by the
tibbot on his missionary travels, to a whole family (173, 203),
sometimes to an individual, a little before death (134, 203).
Holy Orders were conferred by a bishop only. Young men
were admitted to the Diaconate while students (169), and part
of their duty was to wait upon the ministers of the altar (152).
Priests' Orders were conferred by the bishop (135), but the
previous imposition of the abbot's right hand was required as
INTRODUCTION. cxiii
the bishop's warrant for his interference (135). The consecra
tion of the bishops Aidan, Finan, Colman, Cellach, and Colum-
bauus at Hy manifestly proves the presence of a bishop in the
island. If they were canonically consecrated, there must have
been at least three bishops there at one time. When Finan
afterwards consecrated Cedd, he called two other bishops to
his assistance j1 and when Cedda was consecrated by Vim, two
British bishops took part in the ceremony.2 If, however, the
services of one were judged sufficient, the usage would not
have been without precedent. St. Serf is said to have been
consecrated by Palladius singly; St. Kentigern was consecrated
by an individual bishop, who was invited from Ireland for the
purpose ; and even St. Columba himself is said in legend to
have been sent to Bishop Etchen in order to receive from him
episcopal orders, instead of which, through mistake, the order
of priest only was conferred upon him. Lanfranc complained
of single episcopal ordination as a practice existing in Ireland
in 1074 ; and Anselm, in 1100, repeated the charge.
Persons retiring from the world, to live as associates or
probationers in the monastery, were said sumere clericatus
Ifiahitum (135, 180), or, as the natives expressed it, gabhail cleir-
ceachta, and this course was often taken as a voluntary pen
ance (135), ad delenda, peccamina (180). Whenever any one
desired admission to the order, the application was submitted
to the abbot, with whom it was discretionary to receive into
communion immediately (133), or extend the probation over as
long a period as seven years (183). At the appointed time,
the candidate was conducted to the oratory, where on his
knees, he repeated, after the abbot, the monachicum votum (133,
183), the solemn asseveration being per nomen excelsi Dei (142).
After the commission of an offence, the penitent was required
cwam omnibus peccantiam suam confiteri (132, 139), generally
on his knees (132, 147), and thus, promising amendment, pceni-
tentiam agere (147). In such case the abbot either absolved
1 Bede, Hist. EC., iii. 22. 2 Ib. iii. 28.
cxiv INTRODUCTION.
him on the spot (132), or enjoined a more lengthened discipline,
juxta judicationem (128), which was termed the leges pcenitentice
(128, 180), and sometimes extended to an abode of seven years
at a prescribed station (180), sometimes even to twelve, occa
sionally accompanied by self-mortification, and perpetual exile
from father-land (128). The penitent who fulfilled the injunc
tion salutem exercuit animce suce (182).
The Tonsure of the Secundus Ordo, in which the founder
was reckoned, was db aure ad aurem, that is, the anterior half
of the head was made bare, but the occiput was untouched.
This usage existed in St. Patrick's time, who may have found
it in the country ; it was adopted by St. Columba, and con
tinued in his Order until 718, when the coronal tonsure was
received by the society of Hy. This occurred two years after
the Paschal change ; for, though Bede refers the joint reforma
tion to 716, the practical adoption of a new style of tonsure
would require a longer preparation than a mere ritual ob
servance. The Greek tonsure was total, and was styled St.
Paul's, and the Eoman, which was coronal, was styled St. Peter's,
but the Irish fashion, in order to its being brought into dis
repute, was opprobriously ascribed to Simon Magus ; and when
Ceolfrid cast this up to Adamnan, the latter, instead of repu
diating the name, is represented as acquiescing in the reproach,
for his apology was etsi Simonis tonmram ex consuetudine patria
habeam.1 Another scandal circulated against it was of its
introduction ^into Ireland by the swine-herd of Laeghaire, the
Pagan king, who resisted Patrick. In the St. Gall copy of
Adamnan there is a representation of St. Columba, but it gives
him the coronal tonsure, a mistake into which a continental
manuscript of the ninth century might fall.
The sign of the cross was very generally employed as a
siynum salutare (162) ; hence it was customary, before milking,
to cross the pail (163) ; before tools were used, to cross them
(172). The sign of the cross was considered effectual to banish
1 Bede, Hiat. EC., v. 21.
INTRODUCTION. CXV
demons (163), to restrain a river-monster (171), to prostrate
a wild beast (170), to unlock a door (176), to endow a pebble
with healing virtues (1 74). Hence the readiness to erect the
substantial vexillum crucis on the site of any remarkable occur
rence (143, 212) ; a tendency which got full credit for its
development, when Hy was celebrated for her 360 crosses.
Even at sea, the cruciform relation of the masts and yards was
regarded as conducive to a favourable voyage (190). In the
founder's lifetime there was also an extensive employment of
charms, which were produced by his blessing on such objects
as panis (154, 157), pinea capsella, numeri (156), sal (157),
aqua (154, 157), cuculla (168), pugio (172), sudes (178), albus
lapillus (175), and this virtue survived him on earth, as in
the laudum carmina (113), tunica (188), libri (155, 158, 188).
Such belief, however, was peculiar neither to the founder nor
his nation : it was professed in equal variety and firmness by
the venerable father of Saxon history.
The Burial of the Dead was a religious office, which involved
a regard to the future as well as the present. The lively faith
in the Eesurrection (215) rendered it a consideration of impor
tance to be buried among the honoured members of the society
(183), and as the day of dissolution was regarded as the natalis
(190, 201), so the object in the choice of a burial-place was
ubi resurgere (Ixxix, 183). The body of the deceased was laid
out in the cell (216), wrapped in linen clothes (ib), where it
remained during the exequice (ib), which lasted for three days
and nights (ib.), in the course of which the praises of God were
sung (ib) The body was then borne to the grave in solemn
procession, and buried with due reverence (ib.)
The stated employment of the community, besides their
religious services, were Eeading, Writing, and Labour, accord
ing to the example of the founder, who allowed no time to
pass quo non aut orationi, aut lectioni, vel scriptioni, vel etiam
alicui operationi incumberet (108).
The primary subject of study was lectio sacrce Scriptures (152),
as well with the abbot (184), as the junior members of the
CXVl INTRODUCTION.
society (169, 208); and, in particular, the committing to
memory the Book of Psalms. Besides the Holy Scriptures,
there was the study scripturarum tarn liberalium quam ecclesias-
ticarum, the former including the Latin and Greek languages,
the latter ecclesiastical writings. Adamnan's two remaining
Latin works give proof of his classical attainments, and Cum-
mian's Paschal Epistle is a remarkable specimen of the
ecclesiastical learning of the day. To the English students who
frequented Ireland in the seventh century, the natives supplied
libros ad legendum, and Hy was not likely to fall short in its
literary provision. Eor collective reading, they were probably
furnished with the lives of saints — Adamnan quotes Sulpicius
Severus's Life of St. Martin (3), and Constantino's Life of St.
Germanus (149) — which were collected in a mixtum ; and it is
very likely that for this kind of reading the Life of the founder,
as written by Adamnan, was reduced to the form in which it is
found in the shorter recension, where the titles of the chapters
and most proper names are omitted as calculated to interrupt
or encumber the tenor of the narrative. St. Benedict prescribed
the reading, after supper, of collationes vel vitas Patrum, aut
certe aliquid quod cedificet audientes (cap. 42).
Writing formed a most important part of the monastic
occupations; the founder was much devoted to it (172, 203,
213), and many of his books were preserved (158, 188). His
successor also practised it (128, 213). Besides the supply of
service books for the numerous churches that sprung into
existence, and which, probably, were written without embel
lishment, great labour was bestowed upon the ornamentation
of some manuscripts, especially the sacred writings ; and the
Books of Kells and Durrow are wonderful monuments of the
conception, the skill, and the patience of the Columbian
scribes in the seventh century. Giraldus Cambrensis's glow
ing description of the Gospels of Kildare1 is hardly strong
enough to express the excellencies of the Book of Kells. Of
1 Top. Hib., Dist. ii. c. 38.
INTRODUCTION. CXvii
their ordinary Latin hand in the eighth century, Cod. A. of
Adamnan is a fine specimen. This manuscript contains also some
examples of the Greek hand, which was then in vogue among the
Irish. It was a common practice with them to write Latin
matter in Greek letters (144, 191), as is remarkably illustrated
in the Book of Armagh. The style of the letter is peculiar to
the Irish school, and the family likeness can be traced in
manuscripts which are now found in situations very remote
from one another. It is very probable that a chronicle of
events, especially obits, was kept in the monastery (135), and
that from it the Irish Annals derived a few particulars which
they have recorded concerning Hy.
The stated Labour was agriculture, in its various branches,
as aratio (153, 188), seminatio (188), messio (136), trituratio
(130), portatio (137): there were, moreover, the diver sa monasteri
opera (201), such as mulsio (162), opus pistorium (201), fabri-
catio (131, 153, 204), legatio (123), on sea (125, 153, 155) and
land (123, 132, 183). Besides, we may presume that there was
the preparing of food, and the manufacture of the various
articles required for personal or domestic use.
The individual wants of the members were the subject of
discipline as well as their conduct, and the three great require
ments of the body, Refectio, Habitus, and Requies, were supplied
according to conventual measure, prescribed and practised by
the founder, and afterwards established by usage.
The ordinary refection (127) was very simple, consisting of
bread (154, 155), sometimes made of barley (153); milk (162,
179, 212); fish (164, 215); eggs (Bede iii. 2); and, probably,
seal's flesh (139). On Sundays and Festivals (202), and on the
arrival of guests (127), there was an improvement of diet, con-
solatio cibi (127, 131), refectionis indulgentia (127), which con
sisted in an addition to the principal meal, prandioli adjectio
\ (201) ; on which occasions it is probable that flesh-meat was served
up, as mutton (140), or even beef (1 72). The number of meals
in the day, and their hours, can only be conjectured. Colum-
banus's Eule, which is little more than a record of the Bangor
CXV111 INTRODUCTION.
observance, seems to recognise but the evening meal; and
Ratramm of Corby1 states that it was the general practice of
the Scotic monasteries to delay refection till nona, or evening,
except on Sundays and Holydays. St. Cainnech's prandium
(161) was not taken till post nonam (161) ; but this may have
been at a special season, such as Lent, or a fast-day. At this
chief meal the xenia (147), or contributions of the faithful
(147), were partaken of (160). It is -likely, however, that St.
Columba's discipline was milder than that of St. Comgall, and
that it resembled St. Benedict's, which allowed dinner at
twelve, and supper at evening, every day between Easter and
Pentecost ; and after Pentecost, on every day except Wednes
days and Fridays, when the first meal was taken at nona;
from the middle of September till the beginning of Lent, the
first meal continually after nona ; and, during Lent only, the
first meal was delayed till the last light of day (cap. 41).
The ordinary Garments were two: the cuculla (168), of
coarse texture, made of wool, and of the natural colour of the
material ; and the tunica (1 70), an under-garment, which was
occasionally white (188). Instead of the former, when the
weather required, was worn a warmer garment called amphi-
lahis (117, 157). The cuculla, sometimes called casula and
capa, consisted of the body and the hood, the latter of which
was sometimes specially termed the casula. When working or
travelling, they wore calcei (160, 201), which were ficones*
or sandals, and which it was customary to remove before sitting
down to meat (1 60). The femoralia and pedules of the Benedic
tine Rule (cap. 55) do not appear to have been used by the Irish.
In severe weather, or after hard labour, the Superior allowed
the labourers otiari (131). The monks slept on lectuli (1 72, 1 99),
which were distributed through the several cells. Each bed
was provided with a pallet, sir amen (213), probably of straw, and
a pulvillus (1 1 2, 2 1 3). What the coverlets were is not recorded,
but few probably were required, as the monks slept in their
ordinary clothes.
1 Ussher, Brit. Eccl. Ant,, c. 16. - See Note on B. ir. cap. 12.
INTRODUCTION. Cxix
3. ECONOMY.
The Monastery proper was the space enclosed by the Vallum,
and embraced the Ecclesia^Refectorium, Coquina, and Hospitia,
lining the Platea ; the Armarium, and probably the Officina
fdbri ; together with the furniture and utensils belonging to the
several departments of the institution. Its extent was not great
(213), and it seems to have been incapable of receiving many
strangers (167, 1 80) ; yet a visitor might be in the monastery for
several days without having been seen by the abbot (105, 180).
The most important building was the sacra domus (207),
indifferently called ecclesia Qtodoratorium (184,187). It was
provided with an altarium (142, 181, 187), remote from the
door (214); and on it the customary vessels, namely, the
discus and calix. On extraordinary occasions reliquaries were
placed upon the altar (189). Attached to the building on one
side, and communicating with it by a door, was a oubiculwn
(207), or separatum conclave, called exedra or exedriola (207),
which probably served as a sacristy (188, 189), and opened
externally as well as internally. Here may have been kept
the clocca (120, 214), by which the congregation were summoned
to the sacred offices.
The Eefectory of Aghabo, with its meiisula (160), is men
tioned by Adamnan ; and, no doubt, there was a similar pro
vision in Hy. The preface to the Altus expressly names it by
the term proinntig (xcvii), an Irish compound, signifying and
derived from prandii tectum. Here were probably kept the
collus (125), hauritorium (ib.), biberce (174), and such f err amenta,
as pugiones (172), and cultelli (Eeg. Ben. 55).
Adjoining the refectory we might expect to find the Kitchen,
called in Irish coitchenn, or cuicin. Here were the utensils for
cooking, such as the craticula (127), sartago, cacabus, and hydria
(129), the ddbJiach, or water-pot, of the Irish. In very cold
weather the focus (129) seems to have been resorted to for heat
during the hours of study.
Tli ere was most likely a Chamber for the preservation of the
CXX INTRODUCTION.
books, and other literary apparatus, as the tabula (135), or
waxed tablets ; the graphia1 or styles ; the calami (172), or pens :
the cornicula atramenti (129), or ink-horns. The books, at least
those which were intended for carriage, were suspended in
pelliceis sacculis (157) from the walls.2 Among these were the
sacra volumina (206, 212) of utraque canon, or Old and New
Testaments, possibly in the form of a UUiofheca or Bible;
ecclesiastical writings ; and profane authors.
Within the enclosure was a plateola (198), or faitJiche,
surrounding or beside which were the Lodgings, hospitia, of
the community. They appear to have been detached huts,
originally formed of wattles (153), or of wood (189). External
authorities call them botha, cello?, cellulce. Adamnan makes
frequent mention of the abbot's domus (206, 208), or hospitium
(216), or hospitiolum (208, 213), which he styles a tugurium
(2 13), or tuguriolum (129, 135, 162, 203), at some distance from
the others (208), built with joists (129), and situate on an
eminence (209). Here the founder sat and wrote (162, 172,
203), or read (183), having one attendant (129, 142, 172), who
occasionally read to him (135); or by two, who stood at the
door, awaiting his orders (203, 209). Here was his lectulus
(213). The door was provided with a lock and key (206, 208).
When a stranger arrived, a hospitium (118, 180) was prepared
for him. When a member died, he was laid out, and waked in
his lodging (216).
There was a Smithy, probably inside the enclosure ; and in
an institution where timber was so generally used, there must
have been a carpenter's workshop. We may conclude that there
was such an appointment near the beach also, for large beams
of timber, in their rough state, were sometimes floated from the
shores of the mainland to the island, and fashioned there into
boats (189).
All these buildings were embraced by a rampart and fosse,
called the vallum (172), which, in other Irish monasteries, was
1 See Note on B. in. c. 9. 2 See Note on B. IT. c. 8.
INTRODUCTION. CXXl
of a circular figure, and was intended more for the restraint
than the security of the inmates. It is doubtful whether the
cemetery was within the vallum; probably it was, and, if so,
the position of the Eeilig Odhrain would help to determine the
site of the monastery, and to assign it to the space now partially
occupied by the Cathedral and its several appendages.
Outside the vallum were the various offices and appointments
subsidiary to the monastery ; as the Bocetum, with its cows ;
the Horreum, with its grain ; the Canaba, with its appurtenances ;
the Molendinum, with its pond and mill-stream ; the Proedium,
with its horse and cart ; and the Portus, with its craft of various
sizes. These appendages occupied different situations, accord
ing to local convenience.
The pasture-ground, with its bocetum or byre (212), called by
the Irish luailidli or looley, was situate on the eastern side of the
island, at some distance from the monastery ; and for this reason
the lactaria vascula (162, 212) were usually conveyed on a horse's
back (212). The milk-pail had an operculum (162), which was
secured by a gergenna (ib.), passing through Una foramina in
the sides (ib.) The Barn, called sdbJiall in the Irish Life, was an
out-office of considerable importance (211). Here the grain,
when sequestratus (211) or winnowed, was stored in heaps (ib.)
We may presume that it was situate near the kiln and the mill.
The Kiln was employed both for the trituratio frugum (130),
and ad spicas siccandas (88 n.} Orig. Ed.) The latter process
was conducted in a large sieve, rota de virgis contexta (ib.)
This building stood near the path which led from the monastery
to the landing-place (143).
Adainnan does not mention the Mill, but he speaks of the
baker, and of bread. A stream, which flows eastwards, a little
to the north of the monastery, is still called Sruth-a-mkuilinn,
or " Mill-stream." It rises in a bog called the Loclian mor, or
" Great Lakelet, which may have served as a linn in rnuilind,
or mill-pond." The stream is small now, because the Lochan
is nearly drained ; but there are no traces of a weir, and the
h
CXX11 INTRODUCTION.
wheel of the mill was possibly a horizontal one. In the founder's
time, the bro, or " quern," may have been the mill in use, for
such was the grinding apparatus at the school where he was
taught.
The land on the east side of the island seems to have been
used as pasture, while the tillage was conducted in the more
productive plain on the west (1 3 6, 204). To the latter, in harvest-
time (136), the messores operarii repaired in the morning, and
returned in the evening, carrying, from the messis (136) to the
monastery, loads of corn on their backs (137). The caballus or
equus ministrator (212), called gerran in the Irish Life, grazed
near the monastery (212). ThQplaustrum (171, 210) had rotce
or orbitce (188), secured to the axion by dbices (187), or rosetce
(172^., Orig. Ed.)
The geographical situation of Hy, fluctivago suspensa solo, de
manded a constant supply of nautical appointments, and an
acquaintance with navigation. The names of the little bays on
the east coast are indicative of frequent resort to the island :
Port-na-Mairtear, " Martyr's Bay ;" Port-Bonain, " Konan's
Bay;" Port-an-Diseart, "Hermitage Bay;" Port -na-Fr any,
" Frenchman's Bay ;" Port-na-muinntir, " People's Bay," tell
their own history. The chief landing-places, portus insulce (128,
132, 143, 162, 190), were Port-Eonain and Port-na-Mairtear, on
the east (132), and Port-a-Churaich, on the south (note on n.
46). The supply of craft, naves (160, 179, 182, 190), navigia
(119, 176), seems to have been large and varied, for it some
times afforded a navalis emigratio (189). There were onerarice
naves (153), or longce naves (189), or rates (182), some of which
were of wood (189), some of wicker-work covered with hides
(186), caUed curucce (189, 275 Orig. Ed.), or scaphce (189);
and capacious, furnished with masts, antennw, rudentes (182,
190), vela (126, 190),andpztefo?(189); having carmen, latera,
puppes, prorce (186), and capable of being served both by
wind and oar, and formed to hold a crew (160). There were
small portable boats, naviculce, navicellce, for crossing rivers
INTRODUCTION. CXxiii
(134, 171), or for inland lochs (111), or cruising (112), or for
the transfretatio, or ferrying, of the Sound of Hy (139, 216),
sometimes called caupalli, cobles (1 70), or cymbce, or cymbulce
(176). Barcce occasionally arrived from distant countries (131),
commanded by naucleri (ib.) All the vessels of the society
were provided with navalia instrumenta, among which were
utres lactarii (179). They were manned by nautce (118, 160,
176), nautici (182), navigatores (122,125), oiremiges (126), some
of whom were monks (182), some apparently not (125).
The Officers and Servants of the community were at first but
few : however, as the system became developed, duties became
defined, and agents in the various departments multiplied.
Those which are recorded were, the Abbot, Prior, Bishop, Scribe,
Anchorite, Butler, Baker, Cook, Smith, Attendant, Messengers ;
to whom was added, in after times, the President of the Culdees.
The abbot was supreme, and the founder's successor was
styled comharla Coluim-cille, or Hceres Columlce-cille (Ult. 853).
When Hy lost its supremacy, and the principal Columbian
station was in Ireland, the chief of the order was said to be
comharba Cholaim cille ittir Erinn acus Albain, " Successor of
Columcille both in Ireland and Scotland" (Ult. 979, 1062), and
the election lay with " the men of Erin and Alba" (Ult. 988,
1164, 1203). When infirmity of the abbot, or other exigency,
demanded, a coadjutor-successor was elected, called the tanaisi
abbaidh (F. M. 935), who was said thereupon tenere principatum
(Ult. 706, 721), or cathedram Ice (ib. 712), or cathedram Co-
lumbce suscipere (ib. 715). When a vacancy occurred, the new
abbot in primatiam successit (Tig. 724), and the term of his
office was his principatus (Ult. 800). When local Superior of
Hy, but not Coarb of Columcille, he is, in one instance, styled
aircinnech or Erenach of la, in the early Annals (Ult. 977), for
which the later compilations substitute Abbot of la-choluimcille
(F. Mast. 976). In one instance we find the expression Coarb
of la (Ult. 1025).
As in the associate monasteries there were p>*cepositi (132,
CXxiv INTRODUCTION.
135, 163), who were subject to the abbot-in-chief, or archiman
drite, so in Hy there appears to have been an officer who assisted
the abbot (136), when he was at home, and took his place in the
administration when he was absent. He was sometimes called
Custos monasterii, sometimes (Economus, and his Irish name was
FertigJiis. The obit of one ceconomus of Hy is recorded in 782,
whom the Four Masters style yyrioir (A.C. 777).
A member of the society is occasionally recorded under the title
of Bishop (Ult. 711). Sometimes the function was associated
with that of Scribe (F. M. 961, 978) ; sometimes with the condi
tion of Anchorite (ib. 964); and, in one instance, with the office
of Abbot (ib. 978). At a much later period we meet with the
office of Sagart mor, " Great Priest" (Ult. 1164), which might,
from the generic application of sacerdos, be supposed to express
the idea of Bishop ; but it rather seems to denote the priest
whose sanctity or other qualifications gave him precedence
among the presbyters of the society.
Expertness in writing was considered an accomplishment in
the founder (108, 213), and an important qualification in his
successor (128, 213). Dorbene, the abbot-elect in 713, was the
writer of Cod. A., and probably had been scribe of the monas
tery. So honourable was the employment, that the title is
frequently added to enhance the celebrity of an abbot or bishop.
In 961, the bishop of the Isles of Alba was a scribhnidh, " scribe"
(F. Mast.) ; the abbot of Hy, in 797, was a scribhneoir toghaidhe,
" choice scribe" (F. Mast.) ; and, in 978, a scribe and bishop (ib.)
Generally, however, the office was a distinct one ; and when, in
after times, instruction in literature was added to the practice
and teaching of penmanship, the more honourable name of
ferleighinn (vir lectionis), or prselector, was adopted (Ult. 1164).
Those who desired to follow a more ascetic life than that
which the society afforded to its ordinary members, withdrew
to a solitary place in the neighbourhood of the monastery,
where they enjoyed undisturbed meditation without breaking
the fraternal bond. Such, in 634, was Beccan the solitarius;
INTRODUCTION. CXXV
and such, in Adaninan's time, was Finan the recluse of Burrow
(146), and Fergna of Muirbulcmar in Himba (215). At Hy an
anchorite held the abbacy in 747 (F. Mast.) ; an anchorite was
abbot-elect in 935 (F. M.) ; and another, bishop in 964 (F. M.).
The abode of such was called a disert, from the Latin desertum ;
and as the heremitical life was held in such honour among the
Scotic churches, we frequently find the word Desert an element
in religious nomenclature. There was a Disert beside the
monastery of Deny (Ult. 1122) ; and that belonging to Hy was
situate near the shore in the low ground north of the Cathedral,
as may be inferred from Port-an-Diseart, the name of a little
bay in this situation. The individual who presided here was
styled the Disertach, or cenn an Disirt, " Superior of the Hermit
age;" and the name of one such officer at Hy is on record
(Ult. 1164). In 1101 the Four Masters record the endowment
of a similar institution at Cashel for craibhdech or devotees. We
learn from the charters of the Columbian house of Kells, that a
Disert existed there, which, about 1084, was endowed with two
townlands and their mills at Leyney, in the county of Sligo. It
was founded expressly for err aid dewaid, " wandering pilgrims;"
and the conditions were : Ro edpairset didu na Tiuli sin Disiurt
Gholuim chille hi Cenunnus cona lulgortan do Dia ocus do Deo-
radaib craibdechaib do gres cen sheilb ndilis do nack erraid ann
trea biuthu co ro chinne a bethaid do Dia ocus corop craidbech,
" These have all granted for ever Disert-Columcille in Kells,
with its vegetable garden, to God and devout pilgrims, no
wanderer having any lawful possession in it at any time until
he surrender his life to God, and is devout." ^Engus O'Don-
nellan, who brought the Cuilebadh and other reliquaries of
Columkille from the north in 1090, was the Coarb of Disert-
Columbkille. It was probably to enter on such a manner
of life that Muiredhach Ua Cricain, in 1007, resigned the suc-
cessorship of Columcille ar Dia, " for God," i.e. uninterrupted
devotion.
The Butler, pincerna (125), or cellerarius, had charge of
CXXV1 INTRODUCTION.
the refectory and its appointments. In primitive times his
office sometimes coincided with that of the ceconomus. The
cellarius of the Benedictine Eule was a functionary of great
importance, on account of the extensive trust reposed in him :
" omnia vasa monasterii, cunctamque substantiam, ac si altaris
vasa sacrata conspiciat" (cap. 31).
The Baker, pistor (201), was a member whose services were
likely to be constantly required in a society whose food was
chiefly cereal. The only one who is spoken of by Adamnan, as
" opus pistorium exercens," was a Saxon.
The Cook is not mentioned in the Latin memoirs, but the
Irish Life tells of St. Columcille's coic, and it is not likely that
an officer found in other Irish monasteries, and who, in some
instances, has found his way into the Calendar, would be want
ing in this. In the Benedictine Eule, the members who pre
pared the food did duty for a week at a time, and were styled
septimanarii coquince (cap. 35).
Adamnan tells of a pugio (172), and a machera (181), which
were probably of home manufacture. The process of fusing a
piece of iron through the ferramenta (172) of the establishment,
certainly indicates the existence of workers in metal. With the
gobha, or " smith," was probably associated the cerd, or " brazier."
The abbot had a private attendant called the minister (211,
212), and ministrator (120), who waited on him; ministravit
(130), was a frequent companion, and an object of tender soli
citude (172).
Certain brethren, active and expert seamen, were employed
as legati (132, 156) on particular occasions. These seem to have
been specially charged with the care of the boats and marine
appointments.
Late in the history of the Columbian order comes under
notice the society called Culdees. They had no particular con
nexion with this order any more than had the DeoradJis or the
other developments of conventual observance. The system
however, whatever its peculiarities may have been, was ad-
INTRODUCTION. CXXVii
mitted in Hy, and the name of one Gen Cele-nDe, " Superior of
Culdees," like the Prior Colideorum of Armagh, is recorded in
the Annals of the order (Ult. 1164).
The original grant of Hy, whether Scottish or Pictish, or
both, was soon extended to the adjacent islands, as insulce
Ethica, Elena, Hiriba, and the founder speaks of the marini
nostri juris mtuli (139); and his successor forbids a stay in nostris
insulis (116). In spirituals the parent institution not only en
joyed a principatus among all the monasteries of the order, both
among the Scots and Picts, but served as a caput et arx (Bede,
iii. 3, 21), exercising an extensive control over the people at
large. In successive ages this authority was gradually cir
cumscribed. Much of it was lost when Naiton, king of the
Picts, expelled the Columbian clergy from his dominions ; and
the forfeiture was completed among the Picts when diocesan
jurisdiction became defined and established. Even among the
Scots, the prestige of Hy declined in proportion as rival in
fluences grew; remote endowments were cut off; and the
surviving rights in temporals and spirituals were narrowed
to the adjacent lands of Mull, or a few of the Western
Islands. Finally, when the Bishops of the Isles made Hy their
episcopal seat, the monastic character of the institution merged
in diocesan authority. The privileges of Armanach and Frag-
ramanach, so called from AT manach (Aratio monachorum), and
Freagra manach (Responsio monachorum), which existed at Hy
in the fourteenth century, were probably the vestiges of ancient
rights of the monastery to duty-work from the tenants of its
lands, or the neighbours of its churches, which titularly had
passed to the Lords of the Isles, in consideration of a stated
endowment as a commutation for an undefined exaction.
VIII.
Adamnan's practice, with regard to the names of islands, is THE TOPO-
to put them in the adjective form agreeing with insula ; and
thus he deals with Hy on the sixty occasions where he makes
CXXV111 INTRODUCTION.
mention of it. In all these instances the unmistakeable read
ing in Cod. A. is loua insula ; and the same prevails in Codd.
C. F. S. The more modern manuscripts, B. and D., which are
less precise in orthography, and very loose in the distinction of
n and u, always read lona; but the probability is, that their
writers either mistook the name in the original, or desired to
conform to a prevailing style.
That the word as it stands in Adamnan is an adjective, was
suggested by Colgan, although, from a faulty transcript of
Cod. A., he was led into the error of supposing lona to be the
correct form of it. He observes : —
" A Tigernaco in Annalibus, Quatuor Mag. et aliis passim do-
mesticis nostris Scriptoribus communiter la, et aliquando To, et
utrobique per unam syllabam, seu dipthongum, vocatur : et a dic-
tione ilia Io, derivatum reor adjectivum lona ; quod licet apud S.
Cumineum, S. Adamnanum et alios priscos non legatur nisi per
modum adjectivi, cum apud eos non legatur dictio lona absque
adjuncta voce insula ; hinc usu postea evenit, ut pro substantivo
proprioque illius nomine usurpetur. Nobis passim prsefixa H,
vocatur Hia : et parum refert sive Hya ; sive lona vocetur." x
Tighernach, the second native authority in whom a liberal
use of the name is found, employs the form la twice ; on one
of the occasions annexing the qualifying Colaim-cille ; lae, the
genitive, governed by abbas, five times; and le, in the same
construction, four times ; lea (if O'Conor's text can be relied on),
after albas, thirteen times ; hie, once ; hi, once ; and Eo, once.
The Annals of Ulster have the genitive lae, governed by
insulam, or alias, thirty-six times ; la, five times ; hi Coluim-
cille, twice ; I Choluim-cille, once ; /, once ; and Eoa, agreeing
with civitate, once.
The Annals of Inisfallen have lae, in the genitive, seven
times ; lae Coluim-cille, three times ; and hli, once.
The Annals of Boyle also have la.
All these Annals contain mixed texts ; that is, in which
Latin and Irish are interwoven, and Irish names are occasionally
subjected to Latin inflexion.
1 Colgan, Tr. Th., p. 495, b.
INTRODUCTION. CXxix
The Four Masters purport to exhibit a purely Irish text, but
sometimes borrow the Latinized names from the earlier records.
Thus, they have lae after abb seventeen times ; lae Coluim-cille
after abb, twelve times ; la after all, three times ; la 'Coluim-
cille, once ; hi, five times ; hi Coluim-cille, three times ; hlae,
once ; and / Coluim-cille, once.
In the Calendars of Marian Gorman, Tamlacht, and Donegal,
we find the form la.
In many Irish narratives, however, and some of them pre
served in very ancient manuscripts, we meet with hi and hli ;
and these are the prevailing forms of the name among Irish
writers.
Again, in Latin compositions, we observe considerable variety.
Cummian addresses his Paschal Epistle, A.D. 634, " ad Segienum
Huensem abbatem," probably regarding Hu or Hua as his sub
stantive. Cummine Ailbe, circ. 660, employs in his Life of St.
Columba loua insula, the expression adopted by Adamnan.
Ven. Bede, on the other hand, uses HU, from which he forms
the adjective Hiiensis. In like manner, li and Hii are found
in the Saxon Chronicle. Walafridus Strabo, circ. 831, using a
form which, as has been observed, occurs once in Tighernach,
designates the island as " Fluctivago suspensa salo, cognominis
Eo" Hermannus Contractus has Hu. The Chronicle of Man,
which is a much later production, has Hy and lona.
In the biographies of various Irish saints, the dates of which
are uncertain, but probably range from the tenth to the twelfth
centuries, we find occasional mention of the island. In the
Lives of SS. Aidus, Ciaran, Fintan, and Forannan, the usual
name is Hya ; in that of St. Columb of Tirdaglas, Hi; in St.
Brendan's of Birr, /; in that of St. Cadroe, Euea insula ; while
the Lives of SS. Euadhan and Geraldus employ the debased
form of lona and lonensis dbbatia. Colgan, being impressed
with the notion, " mendose loua pro lona" has printed lona in
all the shorter Lives of his collection, as also in his abridgment
of O'Donnell, although the reading was probably different in
the originals.
CXXX INTRODUCTION.
Of Scottish authorities, the earliest is the Life of St. Kenti-
gern, which has insula Yi. Monastic registers have Hii-coluim-
chille and Hy. The first record where we find the name lona,
or Yona, is in an old catalogue of Scottish kings printed by T.
Innes. Fordun supposes it to be an adaptation of St. Columba's
Hebrew's, name : " Insula I. vel lona Hebraice, quod Latine co-
lumba dicitur, sive I Columkill."1 Elsewhere he calls it Hy,
Hii, I, I Columkyl ; but lona is his favourite form.
In the monumental records of the island, we find Fto be
the prevailing name. Thus : Crux Lachlanni Mac Fingone et
ejus filii lohannis Abbatis de Hy, facia A.D. 1489; Fingonius
Prior de Y, A.D. 1492; Hie jacent quatuor prior es de Y, A.D.
1500 ; Prior de Y ; Hie jacet loannes Mac Fingone Abbas de Y,
qui obiit A.D. 1500; Soror Anna Abbatissa de Y. There is but
one exception, and that of a more recent date : Hie jacet Domina
Anna Donaldi Terletifilia, quondam Priorissa de lona, quce obiit,
anno 1 543.2 The Breviary of Aberdeen, printed in 1509-10, and
adjusted a short time before, adopts the book-name Yona, or
lona. Still, however, the old forms Icolmkill, Ycplmkill, and
Ecolmkill, were almost universally employed in legal docu
ments ; while in vernacular use Ee-choluim-chille has, from time
immemorial, been the only recognised name of the island among
the Gaelic population.
A parish in Lewis, in the modern union of Stornoway, is
called Ey or Y.
The conclusion, therefore, to be come to regarding lona is,
that it is a word which was suggested by an error in writing,
and was confirmed by a supposed connexion with one of St.
Columba's names ; while the genuine form loua is to be regarded
as an adjective with a feminine termination, the root of which
is lou, like Eo of Tighernach and Walafridus, which was sounded
in one syllable something like the English yeo. Thus Conall
Macgeoghegan, in his old English version of the Annals of
Clonmacnoise, writes the name Hugh (569, 590, etc.)
1 Fordun, B. u. c. 10. 2 Graham's lona, pp. 8, 13, 17, 20, 25.
INTRODUCTION. CXXX1
The island of Hy, vulgarly called lona, lies off the Boss of
Mull on the south-west, being separated from it by a channel
about an English mile broad, called by Adamnan fretum louce
insulce (129, conf. 118, 133, 141), in after times named the Bay
of Finfort, and now commonly known as the Sound of lona.
The island lies N.E. and s.w., is about three miles long, and
varies in breadth from a mile to a mile and a half. The earliest
reference to its extent is in Bede, who, according to the vague
mode of calculation current in his day, says : " Neque enim
magna est, sed quasi familiarum qiiinque, juxta sestimationem
Anglorum" (H. E. iii. 4) ; that is, v. hydce, " five hides of land,"
as his Saxon interpreter, and the Saxon Chronicle (An. 565),
express it. Fordun, and others after him, represent the
length as two miles. The superficial extent is estimated
at 2000 imperial acres, 600 of which are under cultivation,
and the remainder hill pasture, morass, and rocks. The surface
is very uneven, and for the most part consists of small green
patches, alternating with rocky projections, which in the northern
half of the island are more high and craggy, being intersected
with deep ravines, but in the southern half, where the general
level is higher, are more continuous, and present to the eye an
undulating expanse of a grey, barren waste. The object which
first marks the island in the distance is Dunn, its highest
ground, a round hill, in the northern part, which has an eleva
tion of 330 feet. There are several other eminences, but none
of them attain to 200 feet. The population, between the years
1782 and 1842, increased from 277 to 500 ; but the consequences
of the potato blight have of late greatly reduced its amount.
The people are chiefly collected into a little village on the
eastern side, and any dwellings which are detached are in the
arable portions of the northern half, for the southern district is
uninhabited. Previously to the Eeformation the island formed
a distinct parish, the church of which, called Tempull-Konaig,
stood within the precincts of the nunnery. Subsequently it
was annexed to the great union of Kilfinichen and Kilviceuen,
CXXX11 INTRODUCTION.
in the adjacent part of Mull, and so continues, except in its
quoad sacra relations.
The local features of the island alluded to by Adamnan are
but few, and incidentally mentioned ; they are follows : Munitio
Magna (154); Mons gui monasterio eminus super eminet (131);
Monticellus monasterio supereminens (213); Monticellus qui occi-
dentali super eminet campulo (204); Colliculus angelorum (188,
205) ; Cuul-Eilne (136); Campulus occidentalis (136, 171, 204);
and Portus insulce (143, 162, 190).
I. ANTIQUITIES OF THE ISLAND.
1. Churches.
Archdeacon Monro speaks of " a monastery of mounckes, and
ane uther of nuns, with a paroche kirke, and sundrie uther
chapells." The Description, 1693, tells of "many chapells;"
and another old authority says, " in this island are many other
small chapells." Dr. Johnson and Mr. Bos well, in 1773, state
that St. Oran's chapel and four others were then standing, while
three more were remembered. The compiler of the Orig. Paroch.
conjectures that the four here spoken of may refer to the four
small chapels within the choir of the cathedral (vol. ii. p. 300) ;
but it is unnecessary to have recourse to portions of the
principal church.
1. St. Oran's Chapel, situate in the principal cemetery, called
the Reilig Odhrain. This is the oldest structure remaining in
the island, and is referable to the close of the eleventh century.
It is a plain oblong, measuring 29 feet 8 by 15- 10 in the clear.
Has no east window, but, instead, two narrow lights in the side
walls near the eastern angles, that in the north 2 feet high, that
in the south 3 feet. It is roofless, and the walls are fast decay
ing. The great object of interest is the Romanesque circular-
headed west door decorated with what is called the beak-head
ornament. This building was probably the " larger Columcille
chapel," and the result of Queen Margaret's liberality.
2. St. Mary's Church, commonly called the Cathedral, and in
INTRODUCTION. CXXXiil
Gaelic, Eachis Mor. It is an edifice of the early part of the
thirteenth century, consisting of nave, transepts, and choir, with
sacristy on north side of choir, and side chapels on the south.
The capitals of some of the columns exhibit bas-reliefs similar
to many found in Ireland. The inscription on the capital of a
column under the tower has been already alluded to. In
Graham's lona are good views of the East and West Fronts
(plates 30, 31), and drawings of the bas-reliefs (plates 40-42).
Adjoining the Cathedral, on the north, are the ruins of the
conventual buildings, of which the portion called the chapter
house is the most ancient and remarkable. Over it is said to
have been the library. See the plate in Graham's lona (No. 38).
Near the west entrance, seemingly beside the adjacent angle of
the cloister, was a small chamber called St. Columb's Tomb, i
3. The Nunnery, a venerable pile, much dilapidated, but still
retaining the evidence of former elegance. See Muir's lucid
description (Eccles. Notes, p. 5). There is no record of its
foundation, and the first writer who mentions it is Fordun
(B. n. c. 10). The Macdonald MS., apparently borrowing from
an earlier authority, states that Beatrix, only daughter of
Sommerled (giri ob. 1164), was prioress of Icollumkill (Collectan.
p. 287). This indicates the existence of a nunnery in the island
circ. 1200.
4. Tempul Bonain, the parish church, first mentioned A.D.
1561, in the Eental of the Bishopric, where is an entry of " the
teindis of Ecolmkill callit the personaige of Tempill-Eonaige."
Its situation is shown by the following references : — " About
quarter of a Mile further South [that is, of the Eeilig Grain]
is the Church Eonad, in which several Prioresses are buried "
(Martin, p. 262). "The Nunnery Church is quite entire; one
end of it is arched, and is very beautiful. Here also stands
what was called the parish church. It is yet [A,D. 1795] entire,
but tottering" (Old Stat. Ac., xiv. p. 202). What is now con
sidered the parish church is the building, about the size of
Oran's chapel, on the N.E. of the Nunnery, inside its enclosure.
CXXX1V INTRODUCTION.
The patron saint was probably the St. Eonan, commemorated
at St. Eonan' s of Ness, in Lewis, and from whom the island of
Rona, situate 50 miles N. of the Butt of Lewis, derives its name.
Port Eonain also, the principal landing-place in Hy, is named
after him.
5. Cill-Chainnich, or Church of Cainnech, a small chapel
which stood close to the site of the present Parish Church.
The foundations were removed some years ago, and a few tomb
stones are all that remain to mark the cemetery. The patron
saint was Cainnech, the intimate friend of Columba (118, 160,
205), from whom also the neighbouring island of Inch Kenzie,
formerly a dependant of Hy, derives its name.
6. Caibeal Muire, or Mary's Chapel, situate a short distance
to the south-east of the cathedral. It is in ruins, the gables
having fallen, but it seems to have been of about the same size
as St. Oran's chapel. The interior was used for burial in Pen
nant's time (iii. p. 254), and several tombstones have been found
in it, but without any inscription.
7. Nameless Chapel, measuring 33 feet by 16, situate near the
Chapter-House of the Cathedral on the north-east, and marked
E in Graham's Ground-plan of the Abbey (lona, Plate 32).
8. Grleann-an-Teampull, " Glen of the Church," the name of
a remarkable valley commencing in the middle of the island, at
the back of Cnocmor, with a level floor, and walled in on either
side with a well-defined range of hill, inclining towards the
south-west, and opening out on the northern part of the Machar.
The name has long been a subject of local speculation as to its
origin ; but possibly the occurrence recorded in the Irish Annals,
at 1203, may both account for the name, and, with it, for the
total absence of all ecclesiastical remains in the place. " A
monastery was erected by Cellach, without any legal right, and
in despite of the family of Hy, in tlie middle of Cro-Hy, and did
much damage to the town. The clergy of the north of Ireland
passed over into Hy, and, in accordance with the law of the
Church, they pulled down the aforesaid monastery" (p. clxxxiii).
INTRODUCTION. CXXXV
2. Cemeteries.
1. Eeilig Odhrain, that is, Sepulchretum Orani, the ancient
burial-place of the monastery. The name is still in common
use, but it is very ancient, as it occurs in the gloss on the Feilire
of ^Engus the Culdee (note on B. m. c. 6). St. Odhran's name
was given to it, probably as he was the first interred therein.
His relationship to St. Columba is shown in the Table of Abbots.
Fordun, in one of the anachronisms so frequent in Scotch
hagiology, states of Gouran, father of king Aidan, " cujus ad
sepeliendum corpus ad ecclesiam Sancti Orani delatum est;
ubi patris et avi funera quiescunt in Hy insula" (iii. 24), thus
dating the religious history of St. Oran and the place from a
period long anterior to St. Columba's birth. The oldest tomb
stones in the cemetery are the two with the Irish inscriptions,
Or ar anmin Eogain, Oratio super anima Eogani. ^ Or do
Mailfataric, Oratio pro Maelpatricio. Here, it is said, were
buried the Scotch kings down to Malcolm Ceann-more; here
Ecgfrid, the Northumbrian king, was buried in 684 (Hist. Dun.
EC.) : hither were removed the remains of king Godred in 1188
(Chron. Mann.), and of Haco Ospac in 1228 (ib.) Of these kings
no monuments remain, and the chief part of the interesting tomb
stones that are found there belong to the Clanns Finnguine,
Gilla-Eoin, and Guaire, since known as the M'Kinnons, M'Leans,
and M'Quarries, whose pedigrees, still preserved, attest their
noble extraction from the House of Loarn.
2. Cathedral enclosure. At the western end, close to St.
Martin's Cross on the south, are two tombstones, and other
sepulchral remains.
3. Cladh Eonain, " Burial-ground of Bonan," the cemetery
attached to the church inside the Nunnery precincts.
4. Kilchainnich. Now disused, but the site is marked by
some tombstones.
5. Cill-ma-Grho'bhannain, called also Cill-ma-Neachdain, a
small, unenclosed, triangular space, at the northern extremity
of the old green bank to the north of the cathedral. To this
CXXXV1 INTRODUCTION.
Martin refers, where he says : — " There is an empty piece of
ground between the Church and the Gardens, in which Mur
derers and Children that died before Baptism were buried"
(p. 258). Speaking of the same green bank, Pennant says :—
" At the end is a square containing a cairn, and surrounded
with a stone dyke. This is called a burial-place : it must have
been in very early times cotemporary with other cairns, perhaps
in the days of Druidism. For Bishop Pocock mentions that he
has seen two stones, 7 feet high, with a third laid across on
their tops, an evident Cromlech" (iii. 258). There is no struc
ture there now, but there are many stones spread over the
space.
6. Cladh-an-Diseart, " Burial-ground of the Desert," called
sometimes Cladh Iain, " John's burial-ground." It is situated
some distance to the north-east of the Cathedral, in the low
ground towards the water-edge, and near it on the south is
Port-an-Diseart, " Port of the Desert." These names seem to
determine the site of the Desert treated of at p. cxxv, supra.
Here Langland's map of the island marks " Burial Place," near
which, on the south, are some large stones, indicative of some
rude erection.
7. Cladh-nan-Druineach, " Burial-ground of the Druids," at
Martyr's Bay, near the Free Church. Anything relating to the
Druids has always had great charms for the island folk ; hence
this place, now an undistinguishable part of a potato plot, is
thus carefully described : — " An oblong enclosure, bounded by a
stone dike, called Clack nan Druinach, and supposed to have
been the burial-place of the Druids, for bones of various size
are found there. I have no doubt that Druidism was the
original religion of this place ; yet I suppose this to have been
rather the common cemetery of the people of the town, which
lies almost close to the Bay of Martyrs" (Pennant, iii. p. 245).
In 1795 the clergyman of the parish writes: — " A green emi
nence, close to the sound of I, is to this day called the Druid's
burial-place (Claodh nan Druineach). A cottager, some years
INTRODUCTION cxxxvii
ago, planting potatoes in this spot, and digging earth to cover
them, brought up some bones, which the people of the island
immediately concluded to be the bones of the Druids" (Old
Stat. Acct. xiv. p. 199)!
8. Cladh-na-Meirghe. Near Cnoc-na-Meirghe, at the head
of Gleann-an-Teampull, where unbaptized children used to be
buried.
9. Nameless cemetery. At Culbhuirg, on the north-west side
of the island, an old burying-ground was exposed some years
ago, in which layers of bones were found mingled with char
coal. There was no tradition of its existence, so that it had
no name.
3. Crosses.
Their number was great, indeed, if the anonymous writer of
1693 be deserving of credit : — " In this ile was a great many
crosses, to the number of 360, which vas all destroyed by one
provinciall assembly, holden on the place a little after the Ee-
formation. Ther fundations is yett etant ; and two notable ons,
of a considerable height and excellent work, untouched" (New
Stat. Act. vii. pt. 2, p. 314). Sacheverell, as cited by Pennant,
states that " the synod ordered 60 crosses to be thrown into the
sea" (iii. p. 251). It is also alleged that multitudes of them
were carried away to different parts of western Scotland, and
among them the two beautiful crosses of Inverary and Camp-
belton. This is all very irrational : it only wants a 5 instead
of the cypher, in the total 360, to complete its absurdity. There
probably never were more than two dozen real crosses standing
at any one time ; and if every tombstone in the cemeteries which
ever had a cross of any form inscribed on it were included, the
number 360 would not be arrived at. If some were thrown
into the sea, why any left standing ? If the rest were deported,
who, at that moment, unlocked the shores of Hy, or created an
appetite not hitherto felt abroad ? Or, if there were no fine
crosses previously to 1560 elsewhere, how came Hy to have
cxxxvni INTRODUCTION.
created an art unknown in other places, or, if known, to mono
polize its development ? Mr. David Laing justly observes, that
there are grounds for " believing that the statements so fre
quently and confidently repeated by later writers, from the
time of Sacheverel in 1688, of the number of 360 Stone Crosses
having existed in the Island, should be considered as very
apocryphal, and their alleged destruction by the Eeformers as,
at best, a vague tradition" (Letter to Lord Murray, 1854, p. 12).
1. St. Martin's Cross, opposite the west door of the Cathedral,
a noble monument, fourteen feet high. It has been described
by Martin (p. 259), Pennant (iii. p. 254), and best by Graham,
who has given a drawing of the east face in his lona (PI. 39),
and has subsequently published a drawing of the west face also.
2. Maclean's Cross. On the wayside, proceeding from the
Nunnery towards the Cathedral. The shaft is 10 feet 4 inches
high. Its name is plainly a vulgar misnomer. See the drawing
in Graham's lona (PL 43).
3. St. John's Cross, of which only a portion remains, stood in
the Cathedral ground north of St. Martin's. Graham gives a
drawing (PI. 40). " In a field upon the west side of the church,
there is a cross which appears to be of very ancient date. It is
of one stone, near eight feet high, and twenty inches broad, set
on a pedestal of granite" (New Stat. Acct. vii. pt. 2, p. 335).
4. St. Matthews Cross. A fragment in the same enclosure,
bearing this name.
5. St. Adamnan's Cross. A spot at the north end of the
village, opposite Port a Chrossain, bears this name, although
the object which gave occasion to it is gone.
6. St. Brandon's Cross, stood near Tobar Grain, a little way
east of the Free Church Manse. There is no trace remaining.
7. Torr Abb. On the top of this eminence, opposite the west
entrance of the Cathedral, the socket of a cross is said to have
been observed.
8. Na Crossan Mor, " The great Crosses," is the name of a
spot on the left of the walk running northwards from the
INTRODUCTION. CXXX1X
Cathedral. There are no remains there now, but the place is
spoken of as the site of two large crosses, long since removed.
9. Besides the above, some nameless fragments serve as tomb
stones in the Eeilig Odhrain. Mr. Huband Smith was " unable
to discover at lona the remains of more than fifteen or twenty
crosses" (Proceed. E. Ir. Acad. vi. 392).
4. Houses.
1. Cdbhan Cuildich, spelt CotJian Cuildich, and interpreted
" Culdee's Cell," or " Couch," in the Old Stat. Acct. (xiv. p. 200).
This building, whatever it was, stood in a hollow between Dunii
and Dunbhuirg, and but faint vestiges of it now remain. In
1795 it is described as " the foundation of a small circular
house, upon a reclining plain. From the door of the house, a
walk ascends to a small hillock, with the remains of a wall
upon each side of the walk, which grows wider to the hillock.
There are evident traces of the walls of the walk taking a
circuit round, and enclosing the hillock" (ib.) The foundation
is not quite circular, but measures about 1 6 feet by 1 4.
2. Laithrichean. That is, " foundations," or " ruins." A
small bay, lying west of Port-a-churraich, derives its name
from several circles of stone foundations scattered over it.
These are the traces of by far the oldest buildings in the island.
The spot is a beautiful recess, enclosed by high rocks all round,
and open only to the sea, where the inclination of the ground
towards the water is remedied by an artificial terrace made
across the mouth of the little bay, bringing the level of the
floor to an elevation of seventy or eighty feet over the sea.
Over the sward in this sequestered spot are the circular enclo
sures spoken of, the remains of some very early habitations.
There is no tradition of their use, but they remind one of the
remark made in the Old Stat. Acct. concerning the adjacent
part of Mull : — " There are in the parish many of the round
towers said to be Danish. They are set upon the sea-coast, and
in sight of one another" (xiv. p. 203). One of the circles in
Cxi INTRODUCTION.
Port Laithrichean is thirty yards in circumference, another
thirteen.
3. Dun-lhuirg. This is the name of a well-defined, abrupt,
rocky eminence in the north-west of the island, on the top of
which are the traces of a wall enclosing the summit, like the
Celtic duns, and giving its designation to the whole.
4. G-aradJi-Eacliain Oig, " Garden of young Hector," said to
take its name from Hector M'Lean, one of the Duairt family.
It is situate near the head of Port-a-Churraich, where traces,
said to be of his house, are shown. There are the vestiges of
numerous little buildings in this valley, especially on the east
side, near the stream which runs down from Loch Staonaig.
They appear to be very ancient.
5. Teach an Epscoip, " Bishop's house," a small, ruinous build
ing, situate north-east of the Cathedral. It is mentioned by
Pennant, and in the New Stat. Acct. (vii. pt. 2, p. 333). In
Sacheverell's time it was in good preservation.
6. The sites of the Mill and Barn, of which mention is made
in Pennant (cxxi), are thus alluded to by a writer in 1843 : —
" There is no lake of any consequence ; but on a plain adjoining
the gardens of the abbey, and surrounded by small hills, there
are vestiges of a large piece of artificial water, which has con
sisted of several acres, and been contrived both for pleasure and
utility. At the place where it has been dammed up, and where
there are the marks of a sluice, the ruins of a mill are still to
be seen, which served the inhabitants for grinding their corn."
Speaking of a cross (probably St. John's) which stood " in a<
field upon the west side of the church," he observes : " There j
is a very ancient ruin of the granary about the same distance
west from it that the church is distant from it to the east"!
(New Stat. Acct. vii. pt. 2, pp. 317, 335).
5. Mounds and Cairns.
1. North of the Cathedral, and close to the Lochan Mor on.
the east, is a green embankment, evidently very ancient, and
INTRODUCTION. Cxli
apparently only a portion of the original design. Pennant
says : — " North from the granary extends a narrow flat, with a
double dike and foss on one side, and a single dike on the
other." This bank, which is about thirty-six feet wide inside,
may have been intended to confine and deepen the waters of
the lake, or it may be a portion of the vallum of the original
monastery, for Pennant says, " that the whole of their religious
buildings were covered on the north side by dykes" (iii. 258).
At the end of this is the spot called Kill ma ghobhanain.
Graham calls this embankment the Bishop's Walk (lona, p. 4).
2. Cnoc-na-nAingel, commonly called Sithean Mor, or " Great
Fairy-mount." This is Adamnan's Colliculus Angelorum (188,
205). It is a smooth, green knoll, about 167 paces in circum
ference at the base. Pennant says of it : " On the right hand,
on a small hill, a small circle of stones, and a little cairn in the
middle, evidently druidical, but called the hill of the angels,
Cnoc-nan-aingeal ; from a tradition that the holy man had there
a conference with those celestial beings soon after his arrival.
Bishop Pocock informed me that the natives were accustomed
to bring their horses to this circle at the feast of St. Michael,
and to course round it" (iii. p. 258).
3. Port-an-Churaich derives its name from a long, low mound
running across the bay, near high-water mark. It has long
been an object of curiosity to travellers. Martin says of it : —
" The Dock which was dug out of Port Churich, is on the shoar,
< to preserve Columbus' s Boat called Curich" (p. 263). A writer
^ of 1701 observes : — " This harbour is called Port-a-churrich,
from the ship that Calimkill and his associats came upon from
Ireland to that place. The length of the curuchan or ship is
obvious to any one who goes to the place, it being marked up
att the head of the harbour upon the grass, between two little
pillars of stons, set up to show forth ye samain, between which
pillars there is three score of foots in length, which was the
exact length of the curachan or ship" (New Stat. Acct. vol. vii.
pt. 2, p. 316). This bay is exposed to the western swell of the
Atlantic, and is very dangerous except in fine weather (ib.)
cxlii INTRODUCTION.
4. Opposite the centre of Martyr's Bay is a mound called by
the natives Eala, " the swan" (Graham, p. 3) ; why, they can
not tell. But the truth is, that they are misled by the sound,
for the word really is ealatrom, " a coffin ;" and so applied be
cause funeral parties on landing were formerly in the habit of
laying the remains upon this mound, while they thrice per
formed a deisiol, or right-wise circuit, round the spot.
5. Torr Abb, a rocky eminence opposite the west entrance
of the Cathedral, outside the enclosure. " To the west of the
convent is the abbot's mount, overlooking the whole" (Pen
nant, iii. p. 258). This must be the site of what Martin de
scribes, when, speaking of St. Martin's Cross, he says : — " At a
little further distance is Dun Ni Manich, i.e. Monks-Fort, built
of Stone and Lime, in form of a Bastion, pretty high. From
this Eminence the Monks had a view of all the Families in the
Isle, and at the same time enjoy 'd the free Air" (p. 259). The
artificial part does not now exist.
6. At Port-a-curach, on its west side, where the shore is
covered with small boulders, are several cairns formed of these
stones, for some unknown purpose, possibly sepulchral. They
were there in Pennant's time, and the tradition was then that
they had been raised as penitential tasks.
6. Wells and Lakes.
1. Tobhar Odhrain, " Oran's Well," a little east of the Free
Church manse.
2. Tobar Cheathain, near the Cathedral, celebrated in Gaelic
verse.
3. Tobar MaigJie Lunge, " Well of Magh-Lunga," near the
northern point.
4. Tolar na Ji-Aois, " Well of the age," on the top of Dunii.
The LocJian MOT, already mentioned, was a sheet of water,
partly artificial, covering an area about 400 yards by 200, lying
between the mound and the base of Dunii. Pennant, speaking
of the mill, says : — " The lake or pool that served it lay behind ;
INTRODUCTION. Cxliii
is now drained, and is the turbary, the fuel of the natives : it
appears to have been once divided, for along the middle runs a
raised way, pointing to the hills" (iii. p. 258). This causeway
is called lomaire-an-tachair, "ridge of the way," and sometimes
the Bishop's Walk. It is 220 yards long, and about 22 feet
wide. The tradition is, that this road was planted on both
sides, and that " the edges of the pond were all planted" (Old
Stat. Acct. xiv. p. 203). Another little sheet of water is in
Staonaig, in the south of the island, and takes its name Loch
Staonaig, from the district where it is situate.
II. MODERN DISTRIBUTION.
' The island is divided into six districts, which have Gaelic
names descriptive of their situation or character. Under them
all the places enumerated in the alphabetical catalogue, which
is annexed, are for convenience classed ; the figure attached to
each name denoting the particular portion to which it belongs.
Many of these names are modern, but some, especially those of
simpler form, are old. They are written according to local
orthography, and are accompanied by the equivalent Irish
forms, and their supposed meanings.1
I. — CEANN T-SEAR, Ceann t-soir, " East Head," extending
from the village to the northern extremity of the island, and
embracing the low land which lies between the sound and the
hills, from Dunii southwards. It contains all the ecclesias
tical sites.
II.- — SLIABH MEANACH, Slidbh meadhonach, " Middle moun
tain-land," containing Dunii and the hills in the middle of the
northern half, terminating at the south-west of Gleann-an-
Tempull.
III. — SLIGINACH, Sligineach, " Shelly-ground," a small tract on
the east side, south of the village, terminating a little south of
Tra-mor. It contains Martyr's Bay and its neighbourhood.
1 This alphabetical catalogue will be found in the Appendix, No. II.—
W. F. S.
Cxliv INTRODUCTION.
IV— MACHAR, Machaire, " the Plain," a well-marked tract,
lying north-west of the last, and traversed by a cart road. This
is the original name, for which Adamnan employs a Latin
equivalent.
V. — SLIABH SIAR, Sliabh siar, "West Mountain-land," a
narrow, rocky tract, rising above the last two on the south, and
running across the island.
VI. — STAONAIG, Staonag, " Inclining ground," written Stenag
in Langland's map, and so called from the inclination southwards
in the various ravines into which it resolves itself. Staonag,
derived from staon, " oblique," signifies " a bending," or " in
clination." This tract includes all the southern part of the
island, from Loch Staonaig to the sea. A portion of it, forming
the south-western corner of the island, called Aonaidh-nan-
sruth, " Cliff of the streams," suddenly dips from the level of
the table-land above, and is almost shut out from the rest of
the island by a precipitous cliff running southwards from Port-
Beul-mor to Port-Aonaidh-nan-sruth.
III. DEPENDENT ISLANDS.
Buchanan, speaking of Hy, says : " Circa earn sex proximo
insulse, exiguae nee tamen infcecundse, ab antiquis regibus, et
insulanorum regulis ccenobio Columbae donatse fuerunt." These
islands were among the following : —
1. JEilean na mBan, " Island of the women," so called from
the tradition, as Martin states, "that Columbus suffered no
Women to stay in the Isle [Hy] except the Nuns ; and that all
the Tradesmen who wrought in it were oblig'd to keep their
Wives and Daughters in the opposite little Isle, called on
that account Womens-Isle" (p. 264). It is situate in the sound
nearly east of the Cathedral, but so near to Mull that its insular
character cannot be distinguished when viewed from Hy. A
few years ago the traces of a building called the Nunnery were
distinguishable here. Pied granite used to be quarried on this
islet (Pennant, iii. p. 254). Archdeacon Monro mentions it
INTRODUCTION. Cxlv
under the name Naban, adding that it was " callit in Erishe
Elian Naban, that is the Woemens ile. It pertains to Colmkil"
(No. 90). Nuns' Island of Dr. Johnson's Journey.
2. Soay, due south of Hy, called Soa by Monro, who states
that " it is half ane myle in lenthe, verey guid for sheepe," and
" it pertains to Colmkill " (No. 89).
3. Moroan. Monro says : " On the north northest end of
Columkill, lyes ane little ile, by the Erishe namit Elian Moroan,
ane little laich maine sandie ile, full of bent and guid for
sheepe. It pertains to Colmkill" (No. 91). This is probably the
island on the northern extremity, now called Eilean Annraidh.
4. Reringe. " On the north side of Colmkill layes ther ane
litel iyle, by the Erishe namit Elian Eeringe, ane profitable ile,
yielding verey grate plentey of wyld fowls eggs, and guid for
fishing, perteining to Colmkill " (No. 92). This island remains
to be identified.
5. Inch Kenneth, called by Monro Inche Kenzie, who states
that "it pertains to the prioress of Colmkill" (No. 93). It
once was the head of a little parish including Eorsa, and an
adjacent part of Mull called Ardrnanach (Orig. Par., vol. ii.
p. 316). The roofless walls of the church, measuring sixty by
thirty feet, are standing, and the cemetery continues to be
used. " Insula Sancti Kennethi, cujus et ibidem est ecclesia
parochialis." — Eordun (Chr. ii. 10). Kilchenzie in Cantyre,
Kilchenich in Tiree, and Kilchainnech in Hy, are named from
St. Cainnech of Aghaboe.
6. Eorsa. A small island, N.E. of Inch Kenneth in Loch
na Keal, formerly Loch Seafort. Monro calls it Eorsay, *' per
taining to the prioress of Colmkill" (No. 94).
7. Halmin Island, called Ellenecalmene in law records and
Blaeu. Thus described by Monro : " At the southwest shore of
the ile of Mull, lyes ane little ile, by the Erische namit Ellan-
chane, that is the Dow illyand, inhabit, half a myle lange,
fraitfull for corne and gressing, with ane havin for Heighland
bottis " (No. 86). An islet off Erraid on the west is marked
Cxlvi INTRODUCTION.
Dow Island in Thomson's map, but its situation does not suit
the Archdeacon's description.
8. Erraid Isle, " namit by the Erische Elian Erray, ane iyle
of halffe myle lange and halffe myle braid, guid main land,
inhabit and manurit, fruitfull of corne and pastorage, with
abundance of fisching" (Monro, No. 87). This seems to be
the island referred to in Adamnan (139) as the place where
St. Columba's seals used to breed.
IX.
JHRONICLE The materials from which the following chronicle is compiled
are furnished principally by the Irish Annals, especially those
of Ulster, and they are here disposed in such a manner as to
exhibit, under each abbot, the principal Scottish events of his
incumbency. Down to the year 800, the succession of abbots
is unbroken, and the notices of them, though meagre, are gene
rally satisfactory ; but, after that date, the entries become irre
gular, and progressively defective. This is partly attributable
to the derangement of the Columbian economy caused by the
Danish invasions, and the consequent transfer of the seat of
administration to Ireland. The office of abbot, indeed, was still
maintained in Hy, but as it became subordinate to that of Coarb
or Successor of Columcille, whose dignity was, to a certain
extent, ambulatory among the Columbian houses of Ireland, the
notices are desultory, and the consideration of the local superior
gradually declined, till it almost vanished from the attention
of the annalist. Another marked difference between the two
periods is the constant registration of obituary days in the
former, and its almost total discontinuance in the latter. With
two exceptions, the festivals of the first eighteen abbots are
entered in the calendars of Marian Gormon and of Donegall ;
but after the year 800 there are only four commemorations con
nected with Hy on record, during the lapse of four hundred
years.
Attached to each abbot's name, in the following digest, are
INTRODUCTION. Cxlvii
the dates of his incumbency, derived from the Annals, and the
day of his death, as entered in the Calendar. The events which
are recorded by Adamnan, or are referred to in the notes, as also
the notices of the Columbian houses, and the particulars of early
Scottish history which are entered in the Irish Annals, are
arranged in order under the abbot's name in whose term
of office they occurred, as nearly as the brevity of the plan
would admit, in the words of the Annals of Ulster, with the
addition of a year to their current date; or of any other
authority which is drawn upon for supplementary information.
Where the passages have been already cited in this work, a
parenthetic reference to the page will be sufficient i1 —
I. — COLUMCILLE. Sed. 563-597. Ob. June 9.
Born on St. Buite's Day, Dec. 7, in the year 520. Founded the
abbey of Derry circ. 546 (1.), and that of Durrow before 560 (xlix).
Was implicated, in 561, in the battle of Cuil-Dreimhne (xli, 120)
and, next year but one, in the 42d year of his age, commenced his
labours in Scotland (108).
II. — BAITHENE. Sed. 597-600. Ob. June 9.
Son of Brendan, and first-cousin of S. Columba, born, according
to Tighernach, in 536. Brought up by S. Columba (115, 213);
accompanied him to Britain (Ixxi) ; presided over the monastery of
Magh-Lunge in Tiree (140, 200) during St. Columba's lifetime ; occa
sionally visited Hy (126, 162), and even superintended the agricul
tural operations there (136). Visited the island of Eigg (206).
Sometimes was engaged in transcribing books (128, 213). He was
nominated by S. Columba as his successor (115, 233), and having
enjoyed the abbacy three years, died on the same day as his prede
cessor (Ixxvi, 190). He was founder, and patron-saint, of Teach-
Baeithin [i.e. JEdes Baithenei} in the territory of Tir-Enna in
Tirconnell, now known as the parish church of Taughboyne, locally
called Tdboyne, in the barony of Kaphoe, county of Donegal.
Ill— LAISREN. Sed. 600-605. Ob. Sept. 16.
His father, Feradhach, was first-cousin of S. Columba. In 572
we find him in company with S. Columba at Ardnamurchan (122).
He was abbot of Durrow during the founder's lifetime (131) ; from
which office he was raised to the abbacy of Hy. His name is
omitted in the Annals of Ulster.
IV.— FERGNA BRIT. Sed. 605-623. Ob. Mar. 2.
Son of Failbhe, of the family of Enna Boghaine, son of Conall
1 For this part of the chronicle the reader is referred to the original
edition. The passages relating to lona and other Columban houses will be
found in the Appendix, No. III.— W. F. S.
CX'lviii INTRODUCTION.
Gnlban, of the same race, but not so nearly related to S. Columba
as his predecessors. ^Engus the Culdee designates him Fionn, Can-
didus (Feilire, Mar. 2). His surname Brit, which signifies ' Briton,'
was derived, as Colgan suggests, " a Britannise incolatu " (Act. SS.
p. 448 a), but there is, probably, more implied in the epithet than
is recorded. He is called Virgnous by Adamnan (207, 208), who
describes him as a member of the community in S. Columba's time,
and a youth of ardent piety. The title of Bishop, which is applied
to him by the gloss in Marian's Calendar, and repeated by the Four
Masters (an. 622), and the Calendar of Donegal, is very question
able. An exception to the precedent so recently established in
Hy by the founder would hardly have been sanctioned in the case
of the fourth abbot, especially as Bede, a century afterwards, empha
tically says, " Habereautem solet ipsa insula rectorem semper abba-
tem presbyterum " (H. E. Hi. 4).
V.— SEGHINE. Sed. G23-652. Ob. Aug. 12.
Son of Fiachna, and nephew of Laisren, the third abbot. He
was a zealous advocate of the old Paschal observance, and was
addressed on the subject in 634 by Cummian, in an epistle which is
superscribed " Segieno abbati Columbse sancti et caste rorum sanc
torum successori " (Ussher, Syll. xi., Wks. vol. iv. p. 432) ; and by
the Clergy of Rome in 640, whose epistle on the same controversy
was addressed, among other presbyters, to Segenus (Bede, H. E.
ii. 19). Adamnan calls him Seyineus (113, 118, 155), and refers to
him as the informant of Failbeus, his own immediate predecessor.
Bede mentions him as " Segeni abbas et presbyter" (H. E. iii. 5).
VI.— SUIBHNE. Sed. 652-657. Ob. Jan. 11.
Son of Cuirtri. Nothing more is known of his extraction ; and
he is the first abbot of Hy, " cujus genealogia in patriis hystoriis
observata non occurrit" (Colgan, Act. SS. p. 408 a). Colgan has a
short notice of him at Jan. 11 (ib. p. 57).
VII.— CUIMINE AILBHE. Sed. 657-669. Ob. Febr. 24.
Son of Ernan, and nephew of Seghine the fifth abbot. Adamnan
calls him Cummeneus Albus, and cites his tract "De virtutibus
sancti Columbse" (197). Cathal Maguir, cited by Colgan, notices
him as " Cumineus abba Hiensis, i.e. Cumineus filius Dunertuigh :
ipse est qui tulit reliquias sanctorum Petri et Pauli ad Desertum
Cumini, in districtu Roscreensi donee aufugerint Roscream" (Act.
SS. p. 411 b, n. 26).
VIII.— FAILBHE. Sed. 669-679. Ob. Mar. 22.
Son of Pipan. His brother Finan, locally called Peenan, was foun
der of the church called Tempul-ratha or Rath, and now known as
Raymunterdoney in the county of Donegal, where he was commemo
rated on the 25th of November. Failbhe is mentioned by Adamnan
as "Failbeus noster abbas" and "meus decessor" (113, 118).
^Engus, as cited by Colgan, says of him : — " Quibus verbis efferam
S. Falbeum magnum de Hia, qui bis remeavit ultra maria." Col
gan has collected his acts at Mar. 22 (Act SS. p. 719).
INTRODUCTION. Cxlix
IX.— ADAMNAN. Sed. 679-704. Ob. Sept. 23.
Son of Ronan and Ronnat, born in 624. He was the most
accomplished and influential of St. Columba's successors.
Adamnan, which is said to be a diminutive of Adam, is a name
of unusual form, and of rare occurrence in Irish records. The
Annals and Calendars present but three or four instances of it, to
which the venerable father of English history adds another, and
then, taking the one best known at home, so treats of it as to make
it 7ro\\S)v awrafyos a\\cov. The individual whose celebrity was
thus guaranteed was born in Ireland, in or about the year 624,
and though there is no express record of the parish or province
which gave him birth, there is good reason for supposing that he
was a native of that part of the territory occupied by the race of
Conall, called Tir-Aedha, and now familiarly known as the barony
of Tirhugh, in the south-west of the county of Donegal. Here was
settled the clan from which he sprung, and here was also one of his
principal commemorations, preserving a vivid recollection of his
abode. His father, Ronan, was sixth in descent from Conall Gul-
ban, the head of one of the two great races of the Northern Hy-
Neill, and, in virtue of his birth, claimed kin to St. Columba, and
many of the sovereigns of Ireland. The father of Ronan was
Tinne, from whom came the patronymic Ua Tinne, or " grandson
of Tinne," an appellative which is occasionally found coupled with
Adamnan's name. Ronnat, the mother of Adamnan, was descended
from Enna, a son of Mall, whose race, the Cinel Enna, possessed them
selves of the tract lying between the channels of the Foyle and Swilly,
which was called the Tir-Enna, or " land of Enna," and answers to
the modern barony of Raphoe. Here was situate the ancient
church of Rath-both (now Raphoe), said to have been founded by St.
Columba, but acknowledging St. Adamnan, or Eunan, as its patron,
a preference probably arising out of his maternal connexion with
the original occupants of the district. Concerning Adamnan's early
history not one particle of information remains, nor even a legend,
save the following anecdote in the life of Finnachta the Festive, a
chief of the Southern Hy Neill, and subsequently monarch of Ire
land : — " Not long after this, Finnachta came, with a numerous
cavalcade, to the house of his sister, whither he was invited to be
her guest. As they were riding along the way they met Adamnan,
then a schoolboy, who was travelling upon the same road, with a
jar of milk upon his back. And as he fled from the way before
the cavalcade, he knocked his foot against a stone and stumbled,
and the jar fell from his back and was broken. Upon which
Finnachta said, Thou shalt receive protection, O student, from me,
and he prayed him not to be sorrowful. Then said Adamnan, O
good man, I have cause for grief, for there are three goodly
cl INTRODUCTION.
students in one house, and three more of us are attendants upon
them. And how we act is this : One attendant from among us
goes out in turn to collect sustenance for the other five; and it
was my turn to-day, but what I had gathered for them has been
spilled upon the ground, and, what grieves me more, the borrowed
jar is broken, and I have not wherewith to pay for it." Such is
the story, which probably was the creation of a later age, to intro
duce a historical reality — the intimacy of Adamnan with Finnachta,
and his subsequent interference with him. It transports St. Adam-
nan, in his youth, from Donegal to Meath ; but this is no violence,
for St. Columba, before him, studied at Clonard in Meath, and read
with Gemman in a plain of Leinster ; nor was it inconsistent with
the severity of monastic discipline, even in one nobly born, to
derive his sustenance from eleemosynary sources. But the lesson
in the Breviary of Aberdeen forgets all propriety when it places
Adamnan's novitiate under St. Columba, and assigns to the latter
the jus patronatus of Lismore. The abbot under whom St. Adam-
nan was admitted into the brotherhood was probably Seghine, for
he lived until Adamnan was twenty-eight years old. During his
incumbency, and that of the three succeeding abbots, our author,
no doubt, acquired such a character as rendered him eligible, and
such a reputation for learning as recommended him, to the presi
dency of the Columbian order, now in the meridian of celebrity
and influence. With the exception of his skill in Latin, his
acquaintance with other languages and branches of education is
more a subject of inference than of express declaration ; there is
sufficient evidence, however, to justify Ward in the statement :
" Edoctus est omnes liberales, sacras et asceticas disciplinas, linguas
etiam Hebraicam et Graecam; et quidquid patria lingua (in qua
turn plerseque scientise et Druydum quae non fuere damnata dog
mata) scriptum esset vel artium, vel legum, vel historiarum." His
studies, meanwhile, did not supersede his bodily labours, and to
the subordinate period of his profession is probably to be referred
the voyage for timber to repair the monastery, of which he speaks
in B. II. c. 46. In the year 675, Finnachta Fledach, grandson of
Aedh Slaine, succeeded his first-cousin (whom he put to death) as
monarch of Ireland. He was of the Southern Hy Neill, and was a
chief both valiant and hospitable. An old bardic composition says
that Adamnan, after the accidental introduction mentioned above,
was invited to his court, and subsequently became his anmchara,
or " spiritual director ; " and that this is the reason why Adamnan
made so conspicuous a figure during Finnachta's reign.
On the death of Failbhe, in 679, Adamnan was elected to the
abbacy of Hy, being now fifty-five years of age. Bruide, son of
Bile, the most valiant of the Pictish kings since the reign of his
INTKODUCT10N. cli
namesake, the son of Maelcon, preceded the abbot in his elevation
but one year, so that Adamnan's incumbency is set down in the
Chronicle of the Scottish Kings as the ecclesiastical parallel of his
reign. Aldfrid, the Northumbrian prince, whom the Irish knew as
Flann Fina, was now an exile in Ireland. Thither he had pro
bably been led through his mother's alleged connexion with the
chief family of the north, and here probably it had been that
Adamnan commenced that intimacy which caused the Irish to call
Aldfrid the alumnus of Adamnan, and which proved so serviceable
to the teacher when the pupil ascended the throne. The " war
of Ecgfrid" (B. II. c. 47), as Adamnan terms the fatal expedition
against the Picts in 685, restored Aldfrid to his country and the
enjoyment of his hereditary rights, so that when the abbot of Hy,
in the following year, went on a mission to the Northumbrian
court, probably to plead for the Irish captives whom Ecgfrid's
general had carried away from Meath, he found a ready answer to
his petition. It may be that he undertook the errand at the
instance of king Finnachta, on whose patrimonial territory the
descent had been made by the Saxons, possibly at the instance of
the Leinstermen. The circumstances of Adamnan's journey are
thus related in his Irish Life, but manifestly with that looseness,
and disregard of historical precision, which characterize the later
hagiology of Ireland : " The north Saxons went to Erin and
plundered Magh Bregh as far as Bealach-dnin ; and they carried
off with them a great prey of men and women. The men of Erin
besought of Adamnan to go in quest of the captives to Saxonland.
Adamnan went to demand the prisoners, and put in at Tracht-
Romra. The strand is long, and the flood rapid ; so rapid that if
the best steed in Saxonland, ridden by the best horseman, were to
start from the edge of the tide when the tide begins to flow, he
could only bring his rider ashore by swimming, so extensive is the
strand, and so impetuous is the tide. The Saxons now were
unwilling to permit Adamnan to land upon the shore. Push
your curachs on the shore, said Adamnan to his people, for both
their land and sea are obedient to God, and nothing can be done
without God's permission. The clerics did as they were told.
Adamnan drew a circle with his crozier around the curachs, and
God rendered the strand firm under their curachs, and he formed
a high wall of the sea about them, so that the place where they
were was an island, and the sea went to her limits past it, and did
them no injury. When the Saxons had observed this very great
miracle, they trembled for fear of Adamnan, and they gave him
his full demand. Adamnan's demand was, that a complete restora
tion of the captives should be made to him, and that no Saxon
should ever again go upon a predatory excursion to Erin ; and
tlii INTRODUCTION.
Adamnan brought back all the captives." The secret of his suc
cess is told by Adamnan himself, " regem Aldfridum visitantes
amicum;" and the result is briefly but satisfactorily stated by the
Annals at 687, which is 686 according to Bede : "Adamnan con
ducted sixty captives to Ireland." It may have been about this
period that the Synod was held in Ireland to which Adamnan
alludes in B. II. c. 46 ; his language at the end of the chapter seems
to regard it as an occurrence of some standing when he wrote.
It is to be regretted that he gives no clue to the year, object, or
place of meeting. At the time of his first visit to Aldfrid, a
great mortality prevailed in Europe, from which, however, the
Scots and Picts of North Britain were providentially exempted
(B. ii. c. 47) ; and two years afterwards, when he undertook a second
journey to the Northumbrian court, disease was still ravaging the
country, although not permitted to touch him or one of his
attendants. The object of this visit is not stated by Adamnan,
but it probably was some matter of international policy which
Adamnan was chosen to negotiate. The fact that he sailed direct
to Ireland with the liberated captives in 686, seems to justify the
reference of the following statement in Bede to a later date, when
he returned to Hy, and subsequently crossed over to Ireland :
" Quo tempore plurima pars Scottorum in Hibernia, et nonnulla
etiam de Brittonibus in Brittania rationabile et ecclesiasticum
paschalis observantise tempus Domino donante suscepit. Siquidem
Adamnan presbyter et abbas monachorum qui erant in insula Hii,
cum legationis gratia missus a sua gente, venisset ad Aldfridum
regem Anglorum, et aliquandiu in ea provincia moratus, videret
ritus ecclesise canonicos ; sed et a pluribus qui erant eruditiores
esset sollerter admonitus, ne contra universalem ecclesise morem,
vel in observantia paschali, vel in aliis quibusque decretis cum suis
paucissimis et in extremo mundi angulo positis vivere prsesumeret,
mutatus mente est ; ita ut ea quae viderat et audierat in ecclesiis
Anglorum, suse suorumque consuetudini libentissime prseferret.
Erat enim mr bonus et sapiens, et scientia Scripturarum nobilissime
instructus. Qui cum domum rediisset, curavit suos qui erant in
Hii, quive eidem erant subditi monasterio, ad eum quern cognoverat,
quemque ipse toto ex corde susceperat, veritatis callem perducere,
nee valuit" (Bede, v. 1 5). He then goes on to tell of Adamnan's
voyage to Ireland ; but of that presently. In reference to this visit
he gives the following interesting account of Adamnan's tract on the
Holy Places : " Scripsit idem vir de Locis Sanctis librum legentibus
multis utillimum ; cujus auctor erat docendo ac dictando Galliarum
episcopus Arcuulfus, qui locorum gratia sanctorum venerat Hiero-
solymam, et lustrata omni terra repromissionis, Damascum quoque,
Constantinopolim, Alexandriam, multas maris insulas adierat;
patriamque navigio revertens, vi tempestatis in occidentalia Brit-
INTRODUCTION. cliii
tanise littora delatus est : ac post multa, ad memoratum Christ!
famulum Adamnanum perveniens, ubi doctus in Scripturis,
sanctorumque locorum gnarus esse compertus est, libentissime est
ab illo susceptus, libentius auditus ; adeo ut quseque ille se in locis
sanctis memoratu digna vidisse testabatur, cuncta mox iste litteris
mandare curaverit. Fecitque opus, ut dixi, multum utile, et
maxime illis qui longius ab eis locis in quibus patriarchs et
apostoli erant, secreti, ea tantum de his qua lectione didicerint,
norunt. Porrexit autem librum hunc Adamnan Aldfrido regi,
ac per ejus est largitionem etiam minoribus ad legendum contradi-
tus. Scriptor quoque ipse multis ab eo muneribus donatus, patriam
remissus est." Bede then devotes two chapters to extracts from
this work. To the same visit Ceolfrid also alludes in his letter to
King Naiton, where, speaking of those who differed from him on
the paschal question, he declares : " plurimos ex eis sanctos ac
Deo dignos extitisse, ex quibus est Adamnan, abbas et sacerdos
Columbiensiurn egregius, qui cum legatus suce gentis ad Alfridum
regem missus, nostrum quoque monasterium videre voluisset,
miramque in moribus ac verbis prudentiam, humilitatem, religionem
ostenderet, dixi illi inter alia conloquens : Obsecro, sancte frater,
qui ad coronam te vitse quse terminum nesciat tendere credis, quid
contrario tuae fidei habitu terminatam in capite coronse imaginem
portas ? et si beati consortium Petri quaeris, cur ejus quern ille
anathematizavit, tonsurse imaginem imitaris 1 et non potius ejus
cum quo in aeternum beatus vivere cupis, etiam nunc habitum te,
quantum potes, diligere monstras 1 Respondit ille : Scias pro
certo, frater mi dilecte, quia etsi Simonis tonsuram ex consuetudine
patria habeam, Simoniacam tamen perfidiam tota mente detestor
ac respuo : beatissimi autem apostolorum principis, quantum mea
parvitas sufficit, vestigia sequi desidero. At ego : Credo, inquam,
vere quod ita sit ; sed tamen indicio fit, quod ea quae apostoli
Petri sunt, in abdito cordis amplectimini, si quse ejus esse nostis,
etiam in facie tenetis. Namque prudentiam tuam facillime dijudi-
care reor, quod aptius multo sit, ejus quern corde toto abhominaris,
cujusque horrendam faciem videre refugis, habitum vultus a tuo
vultu Deo jam dicato separare ; et e contra, ejus quern apud Deum
habere patronum quseris, sicut facta vel monita cupis sequi, sic
etiam morem habitus te imitari condeceat. Haec tune Adamnano
dixi, qui quidem quantum conspectis ecclesiarum nostrarum statutis
profecisset, probavit, cum reversus ad Scottiam, multas postea
gentis ejusdem turbas ad catholicam temporis paschalis observan-
tiam sua prsedicatione correxit ; tametsi eos qui in Hii insula mora-
bantur monachos, quibusque speciali rectoris jure prseerat, necdum
ad viam statuti melioris reducere valebat. Tonsuram quoque, si
tantum sibi auctoritatis subesset, emendare meminisset." It is
k
cliv INTRODUCTION.
worthy of remark that, while Bede makes special mention of one
of Adamnan's works, he says nothing about the other, nay, he
proves by his passing observation concerning St. Columba elsewhere
(in. 4), de cujus vita et verbis nonnulla a disdpulis ejus feruntur scripta
liaberi, that he was not aware of Adamnan' s having written on the
subject. This silence suggested a difficulty to the Bollandist
editor, which, however, was removed when he remembered that
the Life bears internal evidence of having been written some time
after the visits to Aldfrid : " Formidinem omnem toilet ipse
Adamnanus ; qui, in fine libri secundi, meritis S. Columbse ad-
scribit, quod in utraque legatione Anglica, ad Egfridum nempe et
Aldfridum Reges, grassante per regiones istas pestilentia, incolumis
evaserit : adeoque mirum non est, Vitam S. Columbse neque ab
auctore fuisse oblatam Aldfrido Regi, neque innotuisse Bedse :
quandoquidem constet Adamnanum, post finitam legationem
Anglicam, de virtutibus et miraculis S. Columbse scripsisse, quae in
aliorum scriptis invenerat, et per totam vitam suam a senioribus
audierat."
From the above it appears, therefore, that on his return to Hy,
Adamnan endeavoured to introduce the new observances, but
found the community much less disposed for change than he had
been ; and that attachment to old customs prevailed over the
influence of argument, or the weight of personal influence.
In 692 Adamnan again visited his native country, and the
object of his journey seems to have been one of importance, for
the Annalists, every word of whom is full of meaning, in recording
the event, state that it occurred fourteen years after the death of
his predecessor Failbhe. On this occasion he seems to have had
political as well as ecclesiastical matter to engage his attention.
His friend the sovereign of Ireland, King Finnachta, had incurred,
if the bardic accounts are to be credited, the displeasure of the
Hy Neill race, by impairing the honours which he was expected
to uphold, in remitting to the Leinster-men the tribute which they
had been in the habit of annually paying to the chief of the exist
ing dynasty. Finnachta had fought the Lagenians and routed
them, so that his indulgence to them does not seem to have been
extorted by force. The secret probably lies in the monarch's title
of Fledach,' or " the Festive." Poems ascribe the exemption to the
pleading of St. Moling, a Leinster ecclesiastic of great celebrity,
who took advantage of the ambiguous meaning of the word Luan,
which is either Monday, or the day of judgment, to convert the term
of a temporary respite into a perpetual surrender of the claims.
Adamnan gets the credit of being the great champion for the
maintenance of the demand ; and a poem of some length and fire
is attributed to him, wherein he calls Finnachta in rigli crin liath
INTRODUCTION. Clv
cen detu, " the old grey king without teeth," and indulges in such
sentiments as these : —
" Were I a king of reddened spears
I would humble mine enemies,
I would exalt my high places,
My combats should be frequent."
The Irish Life of Adamnan says that a proclamation had been
made by Finnachta to the effect, that the lands ofColumcille should
not enjoy the same privileges as those of Patrick, Finnian, and
Ciaran, whereupon Adamnan said : " The life of the king who
made this proclamation shall be short ; he shall fall by fratricide ;
and there shall be no king of his race for ever." Finnachta fell
by the hand of his cousin in 695.
During his sojourn in Ireland, Adamnan in all probability
exerted himself strenuously in the propagation of the new Easter
observance, and laid the foundation of the great success which
afterwards attended his recommendation of the subject in this his
native country. His stay, however, was not of long continuance,
for we find him returning to Ireland in 697, in order to legislate
for the people. It was probably in the interval of these two
journeys that he compiled his Life of St. Columba, for the use of
his society. In it he makes no reference to the difference of
sentiment between himself and his congregation on the paschal
question ; but there is an allusion to a sore subject, where he tells
of St. Columba's prophecy at Clonmacnoise concerning the discord,
" quse post dies multos ob diversitatem Paschalis festi orta est inter
Scotise ecclesias" (p. 118). He may have referred to the same
subject when he spoke of the " valde stolidi qui ingrati Dei
patientia male abutuntur" (p. 191). Baert conjectured that the
Life was written during Adamnan's last sojourn in Ireland, and
that the brethren, at whose instance he professes to write, were
not the refractory monks of Hy, but the more amenable inmates
of Durrow, and of the kindred associations in Ireland. This,
however, is a conclusion drawn from unsound premisses, for it
supposes, as some Irish accounts have done, that Adamnan
quarrelled with his people ; also that the Irish Columbians yielded,
while the Hyensian ones held out. The one supposes Adamnan to
have been expelled from his pastoral charge ; the other is contra
dicted by Bede. The Life itself bears the fullest internal evidence
that it was written by a member of the society, who speaks of
nostrum monasterium (pp. 131, 136, 189), living in the island, nostra
insula (111, 190), which was small and remote (217), among other
islands (191), and called low insula (189, 190).
Connected with the journey to Ireland in 697, the Annals
record a transaction which they despatch with enigmatical brevity :
Clvi INTRODUCTION.
Dedit legem innocentium populis. In which words they allude to a
social reformation which was brought about by Adamnan, and
which, having obtained the highest sanction of the people, became,
as in the case of many modern Acts of Parliament, associated with
the name of the propounder. A synod was convened at Tara,
within an enclosure called the Bath-na-Senadh, or " Eath of the
Synods/' where the memory of the chief actor was perpetuated in
the name Pupall Adhamhnain, or " Pavilion of Adamnan," which
was given to a portion of the space ; also in the Suidhe Adhamhnain,
or " Adamnan's chair ; " the Dumha Adhamhnain, or " Adamnan's
mound;" and the Cros Adhamhnain, or "Adamnan's cross,"
situated on the east of the Kath. This mordail, or " convention-
general," was held, as the semi-legendary records state, at the instance
of Adamnan, for the purpose of procuring a national enactment,
exempting women from war and expeditions. The legend con
cerning the influence and circumstances which brought Adamnan
to interfere in the matter may be seen in the Notes, p. 245. The
acts of the convention were copied by Michael O'Clery from the
Book of Raphoe, and are preserved in one of the Irish manu
scripts at Brussels. There were present thirty-nine ecclesiastics,
presided over by Flann Febhla, the Abbot of Armagh, and among
them were Ichtbrocht, or Ecgbert, probably the individual who
brought the Hyensians to paschal conformity in 716; and Murchu
Mac U Macteni, the writer of a portion of St. Patrick's memoirs
in the Book of Armagh. It is a remarkable fact, however, that,
with the exception of the Abbot of Armagh, and Cennfaeladh,
Abbot of Bangor, the rest of the clergy were from Leinster and
the south. At the head of the laity was Loingsech, son of Aengus,
monarch of Ireland, and after him forty-seven chiefs of various
territories. Last on the list of temporals is " Bruide mac Derili,
king of the region of the Picts." The enactments of the synod
were afterwards called Lex Adamnani, or Cain Adhamhnain, which
means " tribute of Adamnan," because among its results was the
privilege which was conceded to him and his successors of levying
pecuniary contributions under certain conditions. In after times,
when this assessment became of sufficient importance, there was an
officer, or agent, for its receipt, styled the Maor cana Adhamhnain,
" Steward of Adamnan's Law."
It was possibly on the same occasion that the question of Easter
was publicly discussed, and the usage advocated by Adamnan
adopted. At this time also may have been promulgated those
eight canons which bear the name of Adamnan. Ecclesiastical
considerations, however, if entertained at this meeting, were not of
sufficient importance in the eyes of the Irish to merit an entry in
a journal ; and the absorbing subject seems to have been the civil
INTRODUCTION. civil
enactment which afterwards became a source of profit, and for this
reason had special claims upon the memory.
In the mystified style of the Irish, it is sometimes dangerous,
and always difficult, to deal with their statements as historical
records ; but there seems to be ground for believing that the
public mind, which had for some time been kept in expectation
and alarm by the diseases which prevailed, and the portents which
were observed or imagined, was advantageously impressed, and
seriously disposed, by the relation of a vision, concerning the joys
of heaven and the pains of hell, which Adamnan is said to have wit
nessed previous to the date of the above synod. The Fis Adhamhnain,
or " Vision of Adamnan," an Irish composition of considerable age,
as is proved by its style, is still in existence ; and though possessing
internal evidence that in its present form it is not the production
of Adamnan, it lays claim to considerable antiquity, and embodies
a narrative which, like the visions of St. Fursa, passed current in
conversation as the realities of his experience. The Vision is a
religious discourse on the text Psal. cxlvi. 5, 6 (Vulg.), and after
some prefatory remarks, goes on to say : " After this, that which
is preached here was manifested to Adamnan Ua Tinne, the high
sage of the western world, when his soul passed from his body on
the festival of John the Baptist, and when it was carried to heaven
to behold the angels there, and to hell to behold its wretched
hosts." Having related all that he witnessed in either abode, and
having specially noticed in the place of torment the " Aircinnechs,
who, in the presence of the relics of the saints, administer the gifts
and tithes of God, but who turn the profits to their own private
ends from the strangers and poor of the Lord," whom he elsewhere
brands as " sensual Aircinnechs," the narrative proceeds to say that
the soul of Adamnan desired to remain in the happy region, but
that " it heard from behind him, through the veil, the voice of his
guardian angel commanding it to be replaced in the same body
from which it had passed ; and that it should relate in the assem
blies and conventions of the laity and clergy the rewards of
heaven and the pains of hell, such as the conducting angel had
revealed to him. It was therefore the precept which Adamnan
preached whilst he was alive. It was this precept, too, which was
preached in the great convention of the men of Erin, when
Adamnan's Eule was put on the Gaedhil ; and when women were
made free by Adamnan and Finachta Fledach, son of Dunchadh,
son of Aedh Slaine, the King of Erin, and by the men of Erin also.
For it was alike that men and women went into battles and into
conflicts, until the Kule of Adamnan was imposed." A second
vision, or rather a supplement, recounting the wickedness of the
inhabitants of Ireland, and the mortalities with which they were
clviii INTRODUCTION.
visited, and should be visited, follows, and mentions such chastise
ments as the Scamhach, or "Leprosy;" the Bo-ar, or "Cow mor
tality;" the Digbail toraid, or "Blight of fruit;" the Gorta, or
"Famine;" the Nuna, or " Scarcity;" and Dunibadh, or "Human
mortality; " against all of which it declares prayer and fasting to
be the only sure preservative.
From 697 till the year of his death, Adamnan seems to have
remained in Ireland : for, though the social improvement which
he effected is despatched in a few words in the Annals, we can
hardly conceive that so vital a measure was brought about without
much exertion and preparatory solicitation. The success of his
paschal advocacy among a people naturally attached to old pre
judices, in communities widely spread, and subject to many
antagonistic influences, must have required a longer period for its
completion than the following words of Bede would at first sight
seem to imply : " Navigavit Hiberniam, et prsedicans eis, ac
modesta exhortatione declarans legitimum paschse tempus, plurimos
eorum, et pene omnes qui ab Hiiensium dominio erant liberi, ab
errore avito correctos ad unitatem reduxit catholicam, et legitimum
paschse tempus observare perdocuit" (v. 15). The Life of St. Gerald
of Mayo, a compilation full of anachronisms, has yet this curious
coincidence with the statement just made, that it allows Adamnan
a seven years' residence in Ireland. Now, admitting the supposition
above stated to be correct, the interval between 697 and 704, the
year of Adamnan's death is exactly commensurate with this period.
One thing appears certain from Bede, namely, that Adamnan
crossed over from Ireland to Hy in the summer of the year in
which he died, and that he had been in Ireland for a considerable
time previously. The Irish Annals record an occurrence which
almost proves him to have been in Ireland in 701. In that year
Irgalach, son of Conang, great-grandson of Aedh Slaine, and lord
of Cianachta in Meath, slew his own cousin Niall, son of Cearnach
Sotal. This act is said to have excited the indignation of Adam-
nan, under whose protection Niall had been, and he denounced
against Irgalach speedy retribution for the crime. At this time
Adamnan is represented to have been in the neighbourhood of the
Boyne, and an ancient poem states that the cursing of Irgalach took
place in a synod held by Adamnan at Tara. Irgalach, according
to Tighernach, was slain by the Britons in 702 ; and the Annals
of Ulster add that the deed was done in Inis-mac-Nesan, the small
island east of Howth, now known as Ireland's Eye. The wife of
Irgalach was Muirenn, daughter of Cellach Cualann, and sister of
St. Kentigerna of Loch Lomond. She died in 748.
The Life of St. Geraldus represents Adamnan's connexion with
Mayo in these words : " Tune sanctus abbas Adamnanus post
INTRODUCTION. clix
visitationem totius Hiberniae ad S. Geraldum perrexit, ut fraternam
cum eo contraheret societatem. Cui S. Geraldus fundum cum fonte
limpido contulit, atque sibi suam commendavit Ecclesiam, ut a per-
secutione laicorum post obitum suum earn defenderet : quod toturn
S. Adamnanus se completurum promisit, atque opere complevit.
Post ejus [S. Geraldi] vero obitum S. Adamnanus Mageonensem
Ecclesiam, per septem annos indefesse rexit. Inde ad lonensem
Abbatiam perrexit, et ibi feliciter in Domino obiit et sepultns est."
Now, though this statement is open, in the first place, to the grave
objection that St. Geraldus was later than Adamnan instead of
prior to him, and, in the second, that a monastery founded twenty
years previously as an asylum for adherents to the old Easter, was
not a likely place to entertain the professed advocate of innova
tion ; still, the story seems to be wrought upon an ancient tradition
that St. Adamnan traversed Ireland on ecclesiastical duty, and
spent some years therein, and that, having gone back to Hy at the
end of about seven years, he died soon after.
The narrative of Adamnan's proceedings, from his first visit to
the court of Aldfrid down to his last stay in Ireland, as given in
Mac Firbis's MS. Annals, is so amusingly characteristic of native
simplicity, that it is entitled, notwithstanding its looseness, to find
a place among more explicit records. "An 896 [recte 796]. In
this year the men of Erin consented to receive jurisdiction and one
rule from Adamnan respecting the celebration of Easter on Sunday,
on the fourteenth of the moon of April ; and the coronal tonsure
of Peter was performed upon the clerics of Erin, for there had been
great variance in Erin on these questions, until then, inasmuch as
some of the clerics of Erin were in the habit of celebrating Easter
on Sunday the 14th of the moon of April, and had the coronal
tonsure of Peter the Apostle, following in the steps of Patrick ;
others, following Columcille, celebrated Easter on the fourteenth of
the moon of April, whatever day of the week that fourteenth should
happen to fall, and had the coronal tonsure of Simon Magus. A
third party followed neither the sect of Patrick nor the sect of
Columcille, so that the clergy of Erin held many synods, and they
used to come to these synods with weapons, so that pitched battles
used to be fought between them, and many used to be slain ; so
that many evils ensued to Erin from this, namely, the Bear-mor,
and the very great dearth, and many diseases ; and extern tribes
injured Erin. They continued thus for a long period, and even to
the time of Adamnan. He was the ninth abbot who succeeded to
the government of la after Columcille.
"A great spoil was carried off by the Saxons from Erin.
Adamnan went to demand a restitution of the spoil, as Bede relates
in his history. The greater part of the bishops of all Europe
clx INTRODUCTION.
assembled to condemn Adamnan for having celebrated Easter after
the fashion of Columcille, and for having upon him the tonsure of
Simon Magus, i.e. ab aure ad aurem. Bede says that though many
were the wise men in that synod, Adamnan excelled them all in
wisdom and eloquence ; and Adamnan said, It was not in imita
tion of Simon Magus that he had this tonsure, but in imitation of
John of the Breast, the foster-son of the Kedeemer, and that this
was the tonsure which he had upon him, and that though Peter
loved the Saviour, the Saviour loved John ; and that it was on the
fourteenth of the moon of April, on whatever day of the week that
should fall, the Apostles celebrated Easter. Then an old senior
rising up said, Though Columcille himself were present here, we
would not leave him until he should be of the same rule with our
selves ; but you we will not quit, until you be of the same rule
with ourselves. Adamnan made answer unto him and said, I shall
be of the same rule with you. Be tonsured therefore, accordingly,
said the bishops. It will be sufficient that I do so, said Adamnan,
at my own monastery. No, said they, but immediately. Adamnan
was then tonsured, and no greater honour was ever shown to man
than was given to Adamnan on this occasion ; and that great spoil
was restored to him, and he came straight home to his own monas
tery of la. It was a great surprise to his congregation to see him
with that tonsure. He then requested of the congregation to re
ceive the tonsure, but they refused, and he got nothing from them,
sed Deus permissit conventui peccare, i.e. ipsum Adamnanum expellere,
qui misertus est Hibernice. Sic Beda dixit ; for Bede was along with
Adamnan. Now Adamnan came afterwards to Erin, and his fame
spread throughout the land, but that one regulation of Easter and
of the tonsure was not received from him until this year, anno
Domini 696, and Adamnan died in the year 703, in the 7 8th year
of his age."
Bede records the last stage in our saint's life, " Qui cum cele-
brato in Hibernia canonico pascha, ad suam insulam revertisset,
suoque monasterio catholicam temporis paschalis observantiam
instantissime prsedicaret, nee tamen perficere quod conabatur posset,
contigit eum ante expletum anni circulum migrasse de sseculo.
Divina utique gratia disponente, ut vir unitatis ac pacis studio-
sissimus ante ad vitam raperetur seternam, quam redeunte tempore
paschali, graviorem cum eis qui eum ad veritatem sequi nolebant,
cogeretur habere discordiam." This was, according to the Irish
Annals, in the year 704 : in which the reformed Easter fell on the
30th of March. He died on the 23d of September, which is the
day of his commemoration both in the Irish and Scotch calendars.
Of the character of Adamnan for learning and the graces of the
Christian ministry, we have the highest testimony in the contem-
INTRODUCTION. clxi
porary statements of Bede and Ceolfrid. Alcuin, later in the same
century, ranks him with Columba and Comgall, in the well-known
epigram : —
" Patritius, Cheranus, Scotorum gloria gentis,
Atque Columbanus, Congallus, Adomnanus atque,
Prseclari patres, morum vitaeque magistri,
His precibus pietas horum nos adjuvet omnes."
In a later age, Fordun, in addition to the trite commemoration,
"virtutibus pollens et miraculis,"1 says of his literary fidelity,
" quando historias et res gestas conscripsit, de more semper habuit
auctorem suum in testimonium adducere." The Irish, of course, are
loud in his praises. In the Vision he is styled the " noble sage of
the western world,"2 and his Life ascribes to him the combined
virtues of Patriarchs and Apostles, while the Four Masters sum up
the evidence thus : " Adamnan was a good man, according to the
testimony of St. Beda, for he was tearful, penitent, given to prayer,
diligent, ascetic, temperate ; he never used to eat except on Sunday
and Thursday ; he made a slave of himself to these virtues ; and,
moreover, he was wise and learned in the clear understanding of
the Holy Scriptures of God." Yet he was not without his tempta
tions, and there is a curious coincidence between his Irish Life and
the Lessons in the Breviary of Aberdeen as to the manner in which
the enemy made his assaults, namely, in human form, and with
knotty, diabolical questions. The philosophy of these legends is
that they arose, in an imaginative age, out of the prevailing and
well-founded belief in Adamnan's learning and mental ability.
Among his many virtues, diligence in his calling seems to have
been one. The energy of his character has left its impress on the
traditions of the country in the many journeys which he undertook,
and the synods which he held ; and he himself bears honest testi
mony to the multiplicity of his labours, in the epilogue of his tract
on the Holy Places : " Quse et ego quamlibet inter laboriosas et
prope insustentabiles tota die undique conglobatas ecclesiasticas
sollicitudines constitutus, vili quamvis sermone describens de-
claravi." Filial piety was another of his virtues, and out of his
character for it grew the legend cited in the Notes (p. 245), and
the title of his Feilire, or Festology, Incipit Feilire Adamnain dia
Mathair [for his mother] hie.
The undoubted writings of Adamnan are, his tract De Locls
Saudis, and the Vita S. Columbce. The former, whose authorship is
proved beyond all question by Bede, opens with the following pro
logue : " In nomine Patris et Filii et Spiritus Sancti, texere librum
de locis incipio sanctis. Arculfus sanctus episcopus, gente Gallus,
diversorum longe remotorum peritus locorum, verax index et satis
1 B. III. c. 43. 2 ardecnaid iarlhair domain.
clxii INTRODUCTION.
idoneus, in Hierosolymitana civitate per menses novem hospitatus,
et locis cotidianis visitationibus peragratis, mini Adanmano hsec
uni versa quae infra craxanda sunt, experimenta diligentius perscru-
tanti, et primo in tabulas describenti, fideli et indubitabili narra-
tione dictavit, quse nunc in membranis brevi textu scribuntur."
This interesting record is an important item in the history of
writing, as showing the collateral and respective uses among the
Irish of waxed tablets and membranes for literary purposes, to
wards the close of the seventh century.
The other genuine work of Adamnan wants the external
evidence which the tract De Locis Srmctis possesses, and bears testi
mony on certain ecclesiastical questions which it has sometimes
been judged desirable to invalidate. Sir James Dalrymple, in
1714, when defending the Presbyterian view of Church govern
ment, found it convenient to throw discredit on the anecdote
told in i. 35 (p. 142), and, as a means towards this, called the
genuineness of the whole work in question. " I cannot agree," said
Sir James, " with our Biographer, that the Authority of Adamnanus
is equal, far less preferable, to that of Bede, since it was' agreed on
all hands to be a fabulous History, lately published in his Name,
and that he was remarkable for nothing, but that he was the first
Abbot of that Monastery, who quit the Scottish Institution, and
became fond of the English Romish Kites." In our own day Doctor
Giles, when translating Bede's Ecclesiastical History, added the
remark : " Besides the work ' On the Holy Places,' Adamnan is the
reputed author of a ' Life of Saint Columba/ but I have strong
doubts of Adamnan's having written it. I propose shortly to pub
lish the original text of both these works." On what the writer's
scruples were founded does not appear, as the proposed oppor
tunity of declaring it has never occurred. It is to be hoped that the
doubts originated in a different style of research from that which
made Bede's Columcelli an island, and Dearmach the same as Deny !
Lastly, in 1851, a Prussian clergyman, hoping to extend to a por
tion of British antiquities the enlightenment of German criticism,
objected to the Vita Adamnani on these grounds : " Hsec ipsa adeo
fabulis est obscurata, ut vix credi possit, vii saeculo, quo literae
apud Hyienses floruerunt, ejusmodi nugas esse conscriptas. Pro-
logi autem Vitae suspicionem mihi faciunt, quorum titulum ' Prae-
fatio Apologiaque Adamnani Abbatis sancti scriptoris' a librario
esse praepositum nemo non videt, apologiam vero, quae tarn stylo
ac sermone quam re aliena sit a Vita ipsa, ficticiam esse, facile ap-
paret." But surely these are not the observations of one qualified
to pronounce judgment on such a question. If nugce and fabulce
such as Adamnan's indicate spuriousness, what becomes of early
biography ? As to the title of the Prologue, had he consulted a
good edition, he might have solved that difficulty ; and if he had
INTRODUCTION.
gone further he might have found the Bollandist's remarks upon
the expression. Lastly, as to the Apology, the res is of course
different from the narrative of the Vita, while the stylus ac sermo
are so similar to the rest, that none save the architect of a paradox
could discern the difference in the materials. The Life, where there
is a slight variation of style, tells its own story, for it professes to
be compilation ; and we might as well deny the genuineness of
Bede's Ecclesiastical History, because an early chapter is borrowed
from Gildas, and another from Constantius, without acknowledg
ment. There is internal evidence in the Life on the following
points to satisfy any but a theorist, that, 1. It was written by an
ecclesiastic, living in loua insula (pp. 189, 190), styled nostra
(pp. Ill, 190), in which was nostrum monasterium (pp. 131, 136,
189); 2. By the superior of the monastery (pp. 113, 118, 207 tit.) ;
whose immediate predecessor was Falbeus, and he a successor of
Segineus (pp. 1 1 3, 1 1 8) ; 3. By one who conversed with those who
had heard S. Columba's voice (p. 137); who conversed with a,
person who remembered the night on which S. Columba died (p.
215) ; who conversed with the acquaintances of St. Columba's
friends (pp. 129, 142, 215) ; who conversed with a person who had
witnessed the battle of Dun-Ceithirn in 629 (p. 146); who knew
an early friend of the St. Fintan who died in 635 (p. 116) ; who
conversed with the nephew of his predecessor Virgnous who died
in 623 (p. 208) ; who was living when the battle of Magh-Eath took
place (p. 197); who witnessed the ravages of the Great Pestilence
(p. 191); who was a personal friend of King Aldfrid (p. 191) ;
who lived when the House of Gabhran was declining (p. 198) ;
4. By one whose name was Adamnan (pp. 113, 146, 208, 215).
Here is an accumulation of evidence which should satisfy any mind,
and the more so as it is for the most part undesigned and incidental,
the internal counterpart of the writer's own declaration : " Hujus
ergo praemissae narrationis testes, non bini tantum vel terni, secun-
dum legem, sed centeni et amplius adhuc exstant" (pp. 113, 190).
Besides these Latin works, Adamnan is said to have written,
1. A Life of St. Patrick. This is twice stated in the Tripartite Life.
2. Poems. Tighernach cites some verses of his, at the year 695,
and the Four Masters, at 742. His alleged Feilire, or " Festology,"
consisting of seven quatrains and a half, comes also under this head.
The poem on the remission of the Boromean tribute, containing
fifty-two stanzas, though bearing his name, is hardly compatible
with his religious character, and evidences the genius rather than
the piety of the writer. 3. Historia Hibernorum ab origine ad sua
tempora, mentioned by Ward, but otherwise unknown. 4. Epitome
metrica triginta voluminum legum Hibernicarum, also mentioned by
Ward ; and, like the preceding article, probably some compilation
of modern date and no authority.
clxiv INTllODUCTION.
Of Adamnan's two Latin works, the tract De Locis Sanctis is the
better written and more flowing, but it bears a striking resemblance
to the other in many particulars of style, and the use of peculiar
words and phrases. In the following pages the reader will observe
the liberal employment of diminutives, so characteristic of Irish
composition ; and he will find them, in many cases, used without
any grammatical force, and commutable, in the same chapters, with
their primitives. The same tendency is also observable among
verbs in the use of frequentatives and intensitives. He delights in
the distributive numerals instead of cardinals, and in the adjective
termination ax where admissible. He uses the pluperfect for the
perfect, and the nominative instead of the ablative absolute. He
occasionally employs Greek, or Greco-Latin words ; and in a few
instances introduces Irish and Hiberno-Latin expressions. Proper
names he sometimes inflects according to the rules of Irish grammar,
so that in a Latin narrative they present an anomalous appearance.
Above all, the artificial, and often unnatural, interweaving of his
words, in long sentences, and the oft-recurring ablative absolute in
awkward position, will strike the reader as remarkable features of
the style.
One subject more remains to be considered : the veneration of
St. Adamnan's memory. In testimony of this, two classes of
monuments exist, namely, the churches under his patronage, and
the appellations commemorative of his name.
St. Adamnan's Irish Churches.
1 . Bathboth. He is the patron, but not the founder, of this church.
It was originally monastic ; and in the bestowal of conventual
honours among the ancient Irish, the distinctions of orders were
not regarded. Hence, when Kaphoe became an episcopal see, but
under its old patronage, after-ages, supposing that a bishop's see
must originate with a bishop, took advantage of Adamnan's
phonetic name Eunan, and created a bishop Eunan patron of the
diocese, moving his festival a fortnight back in the month, and
leaving Adamnan to enjoy his old abbatial honours on the 23d.
Pope Clement xn. approved of a mass for Bishop Eunan's festival
on the 7th of September, which was printed in Paris in 1734.
Accordingly, the Bollandists place the commemoration of " S.
Eunanus Episcopus, Confessor, Kaphoae in Hibernia," at Sept. vii.,
in a short notice edited by Joannes Stiltingus. Alban Butler, fol
lowing this authority, repeats the error at the same day ; and in
the Irish Calendar appended to the Dublin edition of his valuable
book, the same fictitious patron intrudes on another saint's day.
St. Adamnan's bed used to be shown at Eaphoe.
2. Skreen. — A parish church of the diocese of Killala, in the
county of Sligo, barony of Tireragh, bounded on the north by
INTRODUCTION. clxv
Sligo Bay. The site of the church is an old grant. The Life of
Farannan relates that Tibraide [son of Maelduin, Lord of Hy-
Fiachrach] bestowed upon St. Columba and his fraternity three
pleasant portions of ground, one of which " locus isto sevo Cnoc-na-
maoile dicebatur, postea a S. Adamnano Abbate, Serin- Adhamhnain,
i.e. Scrinium S. Adamnani dictus." St. Adamnan is locally called
Awnaun, and his well is situated a little to the east of the old
church, at the other side of the road. From this well the townland
Toberawnaun [Tobar Adhamhnain] derives its name, between which
and the townland Soodry runs the Dunmoran stream. Over this
rivulet, in connexion with a boreen, is the Drehid Awnaun, or
" Bridge of Adamnan," formed of a flag nine feet long, and nine
inches broad, resting on two stones in the bed of the stream, two
feet high. It does not fill the whole breadth of the stream, so that
at either end there is a vacant space between it and the bank. The
natives say it was formed by the saint, for his convenience in going
from his church to the strand ; and some additions which were
lately made to it, in order to complete the continuity of the path,
were speedily removed, as foreign to the original design. The
church derives its name, it is said, from Adamnan' s shrine, which
was preserved there. This shrine might be supposed to enclose
St. Adamnan's bones, and to be the case containing the reliquiae
Adamnani, which were brought over to Ireland in 727 for the
renewal of his Law, and which were taken back to Hy in 730.
But, according to a record in one of the Brussels MSS., which was
copied by Michael O'Clery, in 1629, from " an old black and diffi
cult manuscript of parchment," the contents of the shrine were the
various relics which Adamnan himself had collected. The record
opens by saying, " Illustrious was this Adamnan. It was by him
was gathered the great collection of the relics [martra] of the
saints into one shrine, and that was the shrine which Cilline Droic-
thech, son of Dicolla, brought to Erin to make peace and friend
ship between the Cinel Conaill and Cinel Eoghain." It then pro
ceeds to enumerate the twenty-six articles which were enclosed in
it, consisting of manuscripts of the Gospels, hymns, and poems ;
articles of apparel belonging to the saints of Ireland ; and a few
relics of St. Paul and the Virgin Mary ; the aggregate of which
must have filled a large box, and been a rather heavy load to carry
about. Colgan couples this shrine with the church of Skreen, and
observes : " Est ecclesia multorum reliquiis nobilis et veneranda,
Dicecesis Kill-aladen, in regione de Tir Fhiachrach, de qua, vide
plura in notis ad vitam S. Adamnani, ubi dabimus catalogum reli-
quiarum in illo scrinio reconditarum." In 832 the shrine of
Adamnan was in the keeping of Tuathal mac Feradhaich, Abbot of
Rechra and Durrow, from whom it was carried off from Donagh-
moyne by the Danes. It is very likely that there were two
Clxvi INTRODUCTION.
shrines called Adamnan's, the older, containing his own remains,
which is the one referred to in the Annals, the other, containing
the miscellaneous objects mentioned in the catalogue, which was in
after-times coupled with his name, and preserved in his church of
Skreen.
3. Drumhome. — A parish in the diocese of Raphoe, county of
Donegal, barony of Tirhugh. It is the Dorsum Tomme mentioned
in such interesting connexion at p. 215, and was probably in the
neighbourhood of St. Adamnan's birthplace. The seat of a power
ful branch of the Cinel Conaill was in this parish (p. 122) ; and in
it was also preserved the reliquary called the Cathach (p. Ix).
Fleming, in reference to Adamnan, says : " Animadvertendum,
ipsum antequam Hiensis monasterii administrationem suscepisset,
plura in Hibernia monasteria, sub editse a se regulse prsescriptis
erexisse, quorum praecipua fuere Rapotense, Pontis-Adamnani, Droim-
tuamense, et Scrinense." To this list Colgan adds : " Colitur S.
Adamnanus in Ecclesiis de Dunbo, Aregal, Boithfheabha, et Grel-
leach, in dioecesi Derensi."
4. Errigal. — A parish in the diocese of Deny, county of London
derry, barony of Colerairie, formerly called, from its patron, Airecal
Adliamhnain, the " habitation of Adamnan." It is now best known
through its village Garvagh. The present parish church stands on
a modern site. The old site is in the townland of Ballintemple,
where the foundations remain, measuring 52 by 18 feet. South of
this is the only local commemoration which now remains in the
parish, namely, an eminence called St. Onan's Hock. It is marked on
the Ordnance Map (sheet 18, at foot), but at the time it was noted
there was not a man in the county that knew who St. Onan was.
5. Dunbo. — A parish in the same diocese, county, and barony.
The ruins of the old church, situate near Downhill, measure 6 3 '2
by 27'6 feet. In this parish is the Munitio Cethirni of p. 145,m/ra.
6. Bovevagli. — A parish in the same diocese and county, barony of
Keenaght. Archbishop King's list makes S. Eugenius the patron,
which name may be regarded as a Latin form of Eunan. Local
belief makes St. Ringan, that is, Ninian, the patron ; but Colgan's
authority, already cited, is superior, as he lived in an age when
these matters were better understood than now. The old church
measures 51 feet by 17*6.
7. Grreallach. — Now Templemoyle, in the parish of Cloncha,
diocese of Derry, county of Donegal, barony of Inishowen. It is a
small burial-ground, with the faintest traces of a quadrilateral
building ; situate on a rocky slope, amidst a wretched group of
cabins, which form the hamlet of Templemoyle on the road between
Culdaff and Carn. It contains but one tombstone, bearing the
name of James Maginnis, a schoolmaster, who died Jan. 25, 1819.
8. Ballindrait. — In the parish of Clonleigh, diocese of Derry,
INTRODUCTION. clxvii
county of Donegal, and barony of Eaphoe. It adjoins Raphoe on
the east, and is the Pans Adamnani mentioned above by Fleming.
The Irish name is Droichd Adhamhnain. There is no church there
now.
9. Syonan. — A townland in the parish of Ardnurcher, diocese and
county of Meath, barony of Moycashel. It is Suidhe Adhamlmdin
in Irish, that is, " Seat of Adamnain." The ruins of a castle exist
here, but Macgeoghegan says that it was not church land. The
tradition of the neighbourhood is that St. Adamnan, when on a
visit to Ireland, preached to his relatives, the 'descendants of
Fiacha, son of Niall, on a hill in the townland, which ever since
has borne his name.
1 0. Killonan. — A townland in the parish of Derrygalvin, county
of Limerick. The name seems to be formed from cill Adhamhnain,
but without confirmation from any other ostensible local evidence.
St. Adamnan's Scotch Churches.
1. Furvie. — A chapelry in the parish of Slains, on the east coast
of Aberdeen, north of the Ythan Mouth. This seems to have been
Adamnan's chief commemoration in Scotland, for it is the one
connected with his name in the Breviary of Aberdeen : " S.
Adampnani abbatis patroni apud Furui Aberdon. dyoces." In the
View of the Diocese of Aberdeen it is stated, under parish of
Slaines : " Here stood of old the parish church of Furvie (dedicated
to St. Fidamnan, Abbot of Icolmkill), overblown by the sands."
The New Stat. Acct. says, " On the estate of Leask, there is another
ruin of a religious house, evidently a Roman Catholic chapel, as
the place where the altar stood is plainly discernible. It is small,
but must be considered a fine old ruin. One gable and Gothic
window are still nearly entire, and the walls are overgrown with
ivy. It stands in the middle of a small plantation of stunted firs
and alder, on a little eminence gently rising from a swampy bottom,
with a rivulet half enclosing it on the south side. It is called St.
Adamannan's Chapel." The same name is given to it in the Old
Statistical Account.
2. Forgkn. — A parish in the north-east angle of Banff, separated
from Aberdeenshire by the Doveran. It was also called Teunan-
kirk, from a peculiar form of the patron's name. Adam King, in
his Calendar, at Sept. 23, has "S. Thewnan abbot and confessor
in Scotland maister to king eugenius ye 6. 684." Dempster also
calls him Thewnanus, placing his day at Sept. 23 ; but Camerarius,
while he mentions " Sanctus Adamannus Episcopus, Northum-
brorum Apostolus" (a man who never existed), at Sept. 25,
notices "Sanctus Thevuanus Abbas et Confessor" at Sept. 26,
adding, "Monasterio Mailrossensi diu prsefuit hie Sanctus." The
clxviii INTRODUCTION.
writer in the Old Stat. Account says, "The name of this parish
was formerly 'T Eunan, or St. Eunan, after the saint of that name
to whom the church had been dedicated." In the New Stat.
Account, it is added that the ruins of the chapel still remain at
the mouth of a rivulet which falls into the Deveron. The valuable
writer in the Collections on the Shires of Aberdeen and Banff
observes, " Mr. Thomas Innes takes him to be the very same with
Saint Adamnan, who in Irish is called Ainan, and their day is
the same, September the twenty-third ; Teunan being formed from
Saint Ainan, as Trowel and Tantan from Saint Eule and Saint
Antony." In this parish was formerly kept St. Columba's sacred
banner, called the Breacbannach, mentioned at p. xcvii ; and he
was also a patron of the church.
3. Aboyn. — A parish in the south of Aberdeenshire, on the north
side of the Dee. " Aboyn hath for its tutelar Saint Theunan."
About half-way between Aboyne Castle and the ruins of the
ancient parish church is a large old tree, now called the Skeulan
Tree, with a well at the foot of it called the Skeulan Well The
tree is still held in reverence. Thomas Innes tells us that he was
born in this parish, and mentions the objects alluded to as called
in his day, " S. Eunan's Well " and " S. Eunan's Tree."
4. Tannadice. — A parish in Forfar, whose patron was St.
Columba. A large rock on one of the braes of Angus, in this
parish, is called SL Arnold's Seat. That this name, though
apparently so far removed, has been formed from Adamnan,
appears by the following extract from a record of 1527 : — " Et
sic eundo versus austrum usque ad caput mentis vocate Sand
Eunendi's Seit." Who could suppose that the names St. Arnold's
Seat and Syonan were identical in meaning !
5. Inchkeith. — An island in the Firth of Forth, E.N.E. of Inch
Colm. " Inchekethe, in qua prsefuit Sanctus Adamnanus abbas,
qui honorifice suscepit Sanctum Servanum, cum sociis suis, in ipsa
insula, ad primum suum adventum in Scotiam." So Fordun (Bowar)
states, more trustworthy in his nomenclature than his chronology.
6. Sanda. — An island off the Mull of Cantyre, on the S.E.
Fordun says of it, " Insula Awyn, ubi cella Sancti Adamnani,
ibique pro transgressoribus refugium." Father Mac Cana's MS.
account of the island states that in Irish it is called Abhuinn,
Latinized Avonia. "In ea est sedicula S. Ninniano sacra, ad cujus
ccenobium in Galvidia tota insula spectat. Conjunctum huic sedi-
culse est ossarium siue sepulchretum quatuordecim filiorum SS™1
viri Senchani Hiberni sanctitate illustrium. Saxeo murulo septum,
in quo sunt septem grandia et polita saxa, quibus sanctissima
corpora teguntur, in quorum medio erat obeliscus, altior hominis
statura. Nemo mortalium impune ingreditur ilium murulum."
INTRODUCTION. clxix
7. Killeunan. — A denomination of land in the parish of Kil-
kerran, in Cantyre, variously written Killewnane and Kilyownane,
and, no doubt, formed from dll Adhamhnain.
8. Dalmeny. — A parish in Linlithgowshire, near Queensferry,
having a fine old Romanesque church. Here was a chantry of St.
Adamnan. The writer in the New Stat. Account says, "From
the crown-charter conveying the patronage capallanice et altaris
Sancti Adamani infra ecclesiam parochialem de Dummany, it would
appear to have been dedicated to St. Adaman, as the adjoining
parish of Cramond was to St. Columba and the Virgin Mary."
At Campsie, in Perthshire, was a croft of land called St.
Adamnan7 s Acre.
In the above list it is observable that the dedications of St.
Columba and Adamnan keep very close together. In Ireland,
the churches of Raphoe, Skreen, and Drumhome are said to be
founded by the former, yet under the patronage of the latter. In
Scotland, Forglen is St. Adamnan's, but in it were St. Columba's
lands of the Banner ; St. Columba's church of Tannadice has St.
Eunan's Seat; St. Columba's church of Belhelvy neighbours to
Furvy; Inch Colm's nearest land is Inch Keith; and St. Columba's
Cramond has Dalmeny next adjoining on the west.
The memorial appellation formed from the saint's name was
Giolla- Adhamhnain, or "Servant of Adamnan." It early became
a Christian name, and we find an example of it in the Charters
of Kells in the beginning of the twelfth century (p. clxxix, infra).
It appears about the same time in the MacDonnell family,
for Somerlid, son of Gilla-Adhamnain, fell in 1164. Subsequently
it became a favourite name in the family, and passed into that
branch of it called the MacNeills of Barra. Among them we
find, in 1495, Gilleownan Makneill, grandson of Gilleownan. In
Ireland it was borne by an O'Freel in 1328. According to the
usual process it became also a surname, and is the origin of Mac
Lennan, the name of the old inhabitants of Glenshiel in Ross-shire,
which has passed into that familiar form from Mac Gilla- Adhamhnain,
as appears from the genealogy of the clan, who derive their name
from Gillaagamnan, son of Cormac, son of Oirbertach, of the race
of Ferchar Abhradhruadh.
Few names, in passing from their real to their phonetic forms,
have undergone such transformations as that of our author. Who
would suppose that Adamnan and Eunan were intended for the
same person, or that Adampnanus and Thewnan were resolvable
into a common original ? Adamnan is an Irish diminutive of
Adam, as Cormac interprets the word in his Glossary : ADOMNAN .i.
homungculus, disbecadh anma Adhaimh, " ADOMNAN, i.e. homungculus,
I
INTRODUCTION.
a diminutive of the word Adam." Under the effect of aspiration,
Adhamh loses the force of its consonants, and assumes the various
sounds of Au, Eu, 0, and Ou ; hence, when the diminutive termina
tion is added, it produces the respective words Aunan, Eunan, Onan,
Ounan : these are the forms of pronunciation which the name
Adamnan has assumed in Ireland.
In the north-east of Scotland, as in Aberdeen and Banff, there is
a tendency to prefix certain consonants to saints' names, either as
an equivalent for St., or to facilitate the pronunciation. Thus St.
Rule becomes Trowel, and St. Antony Tantan ; and hence Eunan
becomes Theunan, as in the parish of Aboyne, where a fresh change
takes place, and St. Adamnan's Well and Tree become Skeulan
Wall, and Skeulan Tree. Again, at Forvey, in the parish of Slains,
Adamnan becomes Fidamnan ; and in Forglen, Adamnan's church
is Teunan Kirk. But, at Dull, in Atholl, the form Eonan is pre
served, as at Kilcherran in Cantyre, where we find the compound
Killewnane or Killownane.
The consequence of this diversity in the written and spoken
forms of the name has been that even the best writers have created
one or more additional saints, and have put the acts of Adamnan
in commission. Thus, in Ireland, Sir James Ware represents
Raphoe as founded by Columba, repaired by Adamnan, and changed
from an abbey to a cathedral by St. Eunan, " who is looked upon
to be the first bishop of the see." And this misapprehension
appears, even at a recent date, in the Fasti Ecclesise Hibernicse,
where the learned compiler observes of the first bishop of Raphoe,
" St. Eunan is commonly reported to have erected the abbey church
of Raphoe into a cathedral, and to have been its first bishop ; but
nothing certain appears to be known of him, nor of the time at
which he lived." What is more remarkable, St. Eunan's day has
been observed on the 7th of September, while St. Adamnan's was
kept on the 23d. Battersby's Catholic Directory for 1855 repre
sents St. Eunan, the patron saint of Raphoe, as a Bishop, but of the
famous individual called by Yen. Bede Adamnan presbyter, ouSel?
Xo7o?. Such an error should not have been committed in the jj
century, one of the ornaments of which had said, "I strongly suspect j
that St. Eunan, who is usually called the first bishop of Raphoe, was j
no other than Adamnan."
Scottish writers are less in error. The Breviary of Aberdeen
correctly places S. Adampnanus, Abbas, at Sept. 23; Adam King
and Dempster commemorate St. Thewnan, who is represented as j4
preceptor of King Eugenius VI., at Sept. 23; and Keith, in like
manner, only that he represents the saint by the name of Thennan. j
The Scotch Prayer Book of 1638, in its Calendar, borrows the •
Irish error of making him a bishop, and places his day at Sept.
INTRODUCTION. clxxi
25. But T. Innes was aware of these inaccuracies, and spoke of
Adamnan as " called by the vulgar S. Deunan or Theunan."
Among English writers, Alban Butler repeats Sir James Ware's
mistakes ; while Sir Harris Nicholas, gathering up the blunders of
Ireland and Scotland, makes a tripartite division of Adamnan's
sanctity, and sets out in his Calendar —
Eunan, Bishop of Eaphoe, . . at Sept 7 ;
Adamnan, Abbot, ... at Sept. 23; and
Thennan, Abbot and Confessor, . at Sept. 23.
The variety of the name in early records consists only in the
difference of Adamnan and Adomnan. Cod. A., in the four places
where the word occurs, reads Adomnanus ; Cod. B. reads Adam-
nanus once, and Adomnanus twice; Codd. C. F. S. vary in like
manner ; Cod. D. always reads Adamnanus. The title of the tract
De Locis Sanctis has Adamnanus. Among ancient writers, Ven.
Bede reads Adamnan or Adamnanus six times ; while Alcuin has
Adomnanus. The Lives of SS. Fechin and Geraldus, Fordun, and
the Breviary of Aberdeen, write the name with a. Among the
Annalists, Tighernach has Adamnanus three times, and Adomnan
six ; An. Ult. read Adomnan always ; An. Inisf. Adamnan always ;
the Four Masters Adamnan twelve times, and Adomnan once ; the
Annals of Boyle Adamnan ; and the Annals of Cambria Adom
nanus. The Vision of Adamnan has Adamnan four times, and
Adomnan once. The prose description of Tara in the Dinnseanchus
has Adomnan, the metrical Adamnan. Among the Calendars, the
Felire, Marian Gorman, and O'Clery's read am; the Martyrol.
Tamhlacht. om. Thus it is seen there is no fixed practice ; how
ever, as the etymology of the word favours the use of a-, and as the
substitution of o is probably to exhibit the phonetic value of the
original vowel, it has been deemed advisable in the present work
to adopt the form which has been printed in the text.
X.— CONAMHAIL. Sed. 704-710. Ob. Sept. 11.
Son of Failbhe. The first abbot of Hy, whose descent is referred
to a different house from that of Conal Gulban. He was one of the
Clann Colla, being of the race of Colla Uais, who was king of
Ireland in 323 (Calend. Dungall.), and therefore one of the Airghi-
alla or Oriellians. Tighernach writes the name Conmael, but the
other authorities, as above. During his term of office, Dunchadh
is stated by the Annals of Tighernach and of Ulster to have held the
principatus of Hy, by which we may understand, either that he was
appointed, in consequence of the age or infirmity of Conamhail, to
administer the affairs of the society, as a tanist abbot, or that some
schism in the community, possibly on the Paschal question (for
clxxii INTRODUCTION.
Dunchadh proved a reformer in 716) led to a rival appointment.
See O'Conor's note in Her. Hib. Script, vol. iv. p. 72.
XI— DUNCHADH. Sed. 710-717. Ob. Maij 25.
Son of Cennfaeladh. Called Duunchadus by Bede (H. E. v. 22).
He was of the most noble branch of the house of Conall Gulban, for
his grandfather Maelcobha, who died in 615, was the third of the
family who were successively monarchs of Ireland, and his grand-
uncle Domhnall, who won the battle of Magh Rath (197) in 637,
succeeded Maelcobha on the throne. During his presidency there
seems to have been a schism in the community, for in 713 and 716,
two other members of the order were elected to the cathedra foe or
Columbce : or it may be that a different office, such as prior ', or even
bishop, is denoted by the expression. On the death of Conamail,
he succeeded to the vacant abbacy, and it was not till 713 that
Dorbene was appointed to the chair : who died in the same year.
The next election to the chair was in 716, and Faelcu, son of Dor
bene, who was then chosen, outlived him, and succeeded him in the
full enjoyment of the abbacy. It was under this abbot that the
Columbian monks conformed to the Roman Easter and Tonsure.
The last occasion on which the old Easter was observed was at the
festival of 715, after a duration of 150 years (Bede, H. E. iii. 4).
The change was effected through the exertions of a Northumbrian
priest, called Ecgberct, " qui in Hibernia diutius exulaverat pro
Christo, eratque et doctissimus in scripturis et longae vitse perfec-
tione eximius " (ib.) The place of his abode had been " in monas-
terio quod lingua Scottorum Rathmelsigi appellatur" (iii. 27).
Having meditated a missionary journey to north Germany, he is
said to have been diverted from his purpose by a vision, in which
his former master Boisil appeared to him, and declared that " Dei
voluntatis est ut ad Columbse monasteria magis pergat docenda "
(v. 9). Accordingly, when upon the conformity of the Picts to the
Roman observance, one of the three remaining obstacles to the
unity was removed, an opportunity offered for the accomplishment
of a work in Hy, which Adamnan, a few years before, had attempted
XII— FAELCU. Sed. 717-724. Ob. April 3.
Son of Dorbene, of the race of Conall Gulban, but in a different
line from the preceding abbots, namely, through his son Nathi.
He was born in 642, for he was 74 years old when he was elected
to the cathedra Columbe in 716, and he was 82 years of age when
he died. Under him, according to Tighernach, the society of Hy
received the coronal tonsure. There is some uncertainty about his
festival : Colgan places it at April 3, but the name does not appear
in the Calendars at that day. They have Faolchu, without any
place, at May 23, and July 20. It was probably soon after his
accession that the Columbian congregation was driven by King
Nechtan beyond the Pictish frontier. They were, no doubt, reluc
tant to acquiesce in the royal edict, " Hoc observare tempus paschse
cum uni versa mea gente perpetuo volo ; hanc accipere debere ton-
INTRODUCTION. clxxiii
suram quam plenam esse rationis audimus, omnes qui in meo regno
sunt clericos decerno." — (Bede, H. E. v. 21.)
XIII.— CILLENE FADA. Sed. 724-726. Ob. April 14 vel 19.
He was surnamed Fada, or " the Tall," to distinguish him from
Cillene Droicteacth, the hermit, who died in 752. Fedhlimid, who
was coadjutor abbot in 722, did not succeed to the abbacy on the
death of Faelcu, in 724. His pedigree is not recorded, and his
festival is uncertain.
XIV.— CILLINE DEOICHTEACH. Sed. 726-752. Ob. Jul. 3.
He was of the house of Conall Cremthann, son of Niall, and
therefore one of the southern Hy-Neill. His pedigree is thus given
in the Naemhsenchas : — Cilline Droichtech mac Dicolla mec Cilline
mec Amalgadha mec Feradhaigh mec Feici mec Cerbaill mec Conaill
Cremthain mec Neill Naoigiallaigh (Book of Lecan). His ancestor
Fiac was brother of Diarmait, king of Ireland. The epithet
Droicteach signifies " Bridge -maker " (Reeves, Eccl. Ant. p. 359).
In the Annals of Tighernach and of Ulster he is only termed
ancorita, but the gloss on his name, at the 3d of July, in the Calendar
of Marian, expressly says : Abb lae Cholaim cille an Cilline Droich-
teach sin, " Abbot of Hy-Columcille was this Cilline Droictech." In
like manner, the Martyrology of Tamlact, at same day, has Cilline
abb lae. These are followed by the Four Masters and the Calendar
of Donegal, the latter of which adds, Ase tug go hErinn an serin no
tarn iomdha do teaglaim Adamnan, do dhenamh siodha agus chairdesa
Chenel Conaill acus Eogain, " It was he that brought to Erin the
shrine or numerous relics which Adamnan collected, in order to make
peace and friendship between the races of Conaill and of Eoghan."
Fedhlimidh, who was appointed coadjutor abbot in 722, continued
alive during the presidency of Cilline. It is possible that, as Cilline
was an anchorite, the active duties of the society were discharged
by his deputy.
XV.— SLEBHINE. Sed. 752-767. Ob. Mar. 2.
Son of Congal, a descendant of Loam, son of Fergus, son of
Conall Gulban. During his presidency, Cillene, son of Congal, pro
bably his brother, died at Hy ; as also, at an advanced age, Fedh
limidh, who became coadjutor abbot in 722. At this period the
Columbian influence in Ireland seems to have been at its height, as
may be concluded from the repeated mention of the Lex Coluimcille
(an. 753, 757), and the frequent visits of the abbot into Ireland.
Suibhne, who succeeded him, was coadjutor abbot in 766.
rl.— SUIBHNE. Sed. 767-772. Ob. Mar. 2.
His pedigree is not recorded. He was coadjutor abbot in 766,
and succeeded to the full title on the death of Slebhine. Nothing
more, except his festival, is recorded of him.
Clxxiv INTRODUCTION.
XVII.— BREASAL. Sed. 772-801. Ob. Mai. 18.
Son of Seghine, but his descent is not recorded. Colgan refers
to him th eentry in the Calendar at May ] 8, Breasal 6 Dertaigh,
Breasal de Oratorio. During his presidency Hy acquired celebrity
as a place of pilgrimage, from having two Irish kings enrolled among
its members.
XVIIL— CONNACHTACH. Sed. 801-802. Ob. Mai. 10.
His name is not found in the Annals of Ulster, but it is entered
in the Four Masters, at 797, probably on the authority of Tigher-
nach, now wanting, at that date, or of some other early record.
They term him scribhneoir tocchaidhe acus abb lae, " choice scribe,
and abbot of la." Colgan calls him Conmanus, and takes May 10 as
his festival, at which day the name of a Cormac is entered in the
Calendar of Tamlacht.
XIX.— CELLACH. Sed. 802-815.
Son of Conghal, but of uncertain descent. During his presidency
it was that Kells, in the county of Meath, was re-organized on a
more extended scale, and made the chief station of the Columbian
order.
XX.— DIARMAIT. Sed. 815— post 831.
He was surnamed Dalta Daighre, "Alumnus Daigri," and was
appointed successor to Cellach at Kells, in 814, when the latter
retired, it would seem, to Hy. As Kells had now risen into import
ance, and Hy had declined, the chief of the order began to assume
an official rather than a local title, and to be styled Coarb of Colum-
cille. The year of this Diarmait's death is not recorded, nor does his
name appear in the Calendar. During his presidency, probably
while he abode in Ireland, occurred a second massacre of the con
gregation of Hy by the Danes. On this occasion Blaithmac, who
seems to have been superior of the monastery, was put to death.
Walafridus Strabus, twelfth abbot of Augia Dives, who nourished
between 823 and 849, has written a poem of 172 hexameters on the
martyrdom of this ecclesiastic. He describes Blaithmaic as " regali
de stirpe satus," as "regius haeres," and as " rex ille futurus, genuit
quern dives Hibernia mundo." He states that, having become a
monk, "agmina multorum rexit veneranda virorum ;" and that,
subsequently, coveting the crown of martyrdom, he betook himself
to the Island of Eo, whither the pagan Danes had already on more
than one occasion come. Expecting their return, he counselled the
members of the fraternity to save themselves by flight ; whereupon
some departed, while others remained with him. The precious
shrine containing St. Columba's relics he deposited in the earth, and
when, on the arrival of the plunderers, he refused to make known
the place of its concealment, they slew both him and his companions.
This poem was first printed by Canisius, and has since been fre
quently reproduced.
INTRODUCTION, clxxv
XXL— INNRECHTACH. Sed. 8— -854. Ob. Mar. 12.
His surname, Uo Finachta, or Ua F'machtain, is supplied by the
Annals of Innisfallen, at 840, and is copied by the Four Masters at
852. The date of his predecessor's death is not recorded, conse
quently the year of his accession is undetermined. According to
the Annals of Inisf alien, he was on his way to Rome when he was
killed by the Saxons (840).
XXIL— CELLACH. Sed. 854-865.
Son of Ailill. He was abbot of Kildare as well as of Hy, and
thus combined the presidency of a monastery which was not Colum
bian with that of St. Columba's society. He seems to have been
engaged in a visitation of the Columbian churches in Scotland at the
time of his death.
XXIIL— FERADHACH. Sed. 865-880.
Son of Cormac. During his presidency Hy became more and
more insecure by reason of Danish inroads. Dunkeld now comes
into notice as an important ecclesiastical station.
XXIV.— FLANN. Sed. 880-891. Ob. April 24.
Son of Maelduin, of the race of Conall Gulban. His pedigree is
given in the Naemhseanchas, but it is evidently deficient in some
generations, for it makes him twelfth in descent from Conall Gulban,
while Adamnan, who died nearly two centuries before, was eighth.
Colgan latinizes his name by Florentius, and states his festival to be
April 24 (Tr. Th. p. 481, a, n. 24).
XXV.— MAELBRIGHDE. Coarb 891-927. Ob. Febr. 22.
Son of Tornan, of the race of Conall Gulban, from whom, accord
ing to the pedigree preserved in the Naemhseanchas, he was
thirteenth in descent. He is commemorated in the Calendars of
Marian and of Donegal at Feb. 22, at which day the latter authority
states that the mother of Maelbrighde was Saerlath, daughter of
Cuilebadh, son of Baethghaile. This is copied from the Tract De
Matribus Sanctorum Hibernice, commonly attributed to ^Engus the
Culdee. But the date of that writer is circ. 800, whereas this, his
alleged composition, refers to a man who died in 927. Maelbrighde
was not only abbot of Hy, but of Armagh and Raphoe, and his
celebrity must have been considerable to elicit the following eulo-
gium from the Four Masters : "St. Maelbrighde, son of Tornan,
coarb of Patrick, Qolumcille, and Adamnan, head of the piety of all
Ireland and of the greater part of Europe, died in a good old age,
on the 22d of February." He had been elected abbot of Armagh
on the death of Maelcobha, in 888. His penultimate predecessor
held the abbacy of Hy with that of Kildare : this abbot holds it
with that of Armagh and Raphoe ; an additional evidence of the
declension of Hy. See Colgan's Acta SS. p. 386.
Clxxvi INTRODUCTION.
XXVI.— DUBHTHACH. Coarb 927-938. Ob. Oct. 7.
Son of Duban, of the race of Conall Gulban, from whom, accord
ing to the pedigree in the Naemhseanchas, he was fourteenth in
descent, and in the same line as his predecessor, Maelbrighde. He
was abbot of Raphoe as well as of Hy, and is styled by the Four
Masters " Coarb of Columcille both in Erin and Alba."
XXVIL— KOBHARTACH. Goarb 938-954.
He is styled "Coarb of Columcille and Adamnan," so that
Raphoe may be considered as having been included in his jurisdic
tion. During his presidency, the obit of an abbot of Hy is recorded.
We find another Robhartach at No. xxxix.
XXVIII.— DUBHDUIN. Coarb 954-959.
Surnamed Ua Stefain. He was of the Cinel Fergusa, a branch
of the Cinel-Eoghain (Book of Lecan, fol. 64). The Four Masters
enter his obit at 957, and repeat it at 958.
XXIX.— DUBHSCUILE. Coarb 959-964.
Son of Cinaedh or Kenneth. Nothing more is known of his
history. Probably his official seat was at Kells.
XXX.— MUGHRON. Goarb 964-980.
The Annals of Ulster designate him "Successor of Columcille
both in Ireland and Alba." The Four Masters style him " Abbot
of la, scribe and bishop ; the most learned of the three Divisions"
[na tTri Rand], that is, as Dr. O'Donovan explains it, of Ireland,
Man, and Alba. During his presidency, Fiachra Ua hArtagain,
aircinnech of la, died. This is the only instance where we find
the term aircinneach used in connexion with Hy, and the Four
Masters, in the present case, render it by " abbot." During this
period there was also a bishop at Hy.
XXXI.— MAELCIARAIN. Coarb 980-986.
The family of Ua Maighne (now pronounced O'Afooney), to which
he belonged, were of the Cinel Conaill, and hereditary tenants of
Inishkeel in Donegal. According to the Four Masters, this coarb
was put to death in Hy by the Danes of Dublin.
XXXII.— DUNNCHADH. Coarb 986-989.
Surnamed Ua Robhacain. The Four Masters style him " Coarb
of Columcille and Adamnan," so that Raphoe was included in his
jurisdiction.
XXXIII. — DUBHDALEITHE. Coarb 989-998. Ob. June 2.
Son of Cellach. In 965 he was elected Abbot of Armagh, and
in 989 was chosen by the joint suffrages of the Irish and Scotch to
the presidency of the Columbian order ; or, as Colgan expresses it,
"supremus moderator Congregationis Divi Columbse in Hibernia
INTRODUCTION.
et Albione" (Tr. Th. p. 503 6). It is worthy of observation that
during the term of Dubhdaleithe's presidency at Armagh, five
years before his death, another individual, Muirecan of Bodoney, is
represented as coarb of Patrick, and enjoying the privileges of that
office. See Nos. xi. xu. supra.
XXXIV.— MUIREDHACH. Coarl 998-1007. 01. Dec. 28.
Son of Crichan. He was not only coarb of Columcille and
Adamnan, but a bishop, lector of Armagh, and coarb designate of
St. Patrick. In 1007 he retired from the presidency of the
Columbian order, and became a recluse. He died on Saturday
night, the 28th of December 1011, and was interred with great
honour before the altar of the church of Armagh. Under his pre
sidency Maelbrighde Ua Rimhedha was abbot of Hy. The clergy
of Armagh appear, at this period, to have exercised considerable
influence in the Columbian appointments.
XXXV.— FERDOMHNACH. Coarl 1007-1008.
On the retirement of Muiredhach, he was elected to the succes-
sorship of Columcille, and the appointment was made by the
authorities assembled in the great fair of Teltown. His local title
was Abbot of Kells, which seems to have been the highest Colum
bian dignity at this period. We have no statement of his descent,
but it seems to have been from the Cinel Conaill. Robhartach,
son of Ferdomhnach, the coarb of Columcille and Adamnan, who
died in 1058, was probably his son.
XXXVL— MAELMUIEE. Coarb 1008-1009.
Surnamed Ua hUchtain. The family of which he was a member
was at this time the principal one connected with the church of
Kells. See under the years 969, 992, 1034, 1040 (App. III.) There
was a Maelmuire Ua hUchtain, coarb of Coluimcille, who died in
1040, and whom, in the absence of the express name of any other
successor in the interim, one might feel disposed to identify with
this ecclesiastic, but that the death of the latter is recorded at 1009.
XXXVIL— MAELEOIN. Coarb 1009-1025.
Surnamed Ua Torain, possibly a descendant of Tornan, the
father of Maelbrighde in No. xxv. The family of O'Tornan (now
called Dornan), were the herenachs of Drumhome, in the county
of Donegal. It is not expressly stated that this individual was
coarb of Columcille, and the introduction of his name in this
catalogue is somewhat conjectural. Probabilities are, however, in
its favour. See the Ordnance Memoir of Templemore, p. 28.
XXXVIII.— MAELMUIRE. Coarb 1025-1040.
Surnamed Ua hUchtain. The penultimate predecessor was of
the same family and name. Macnia Ua hUchtain, the lector of
Kells, who was drowned in 1034, was also his kinsman. In that
year Hy lost some of its surviving heirlooms. The Four Masters,
in recording Maelmuire's obit, state that he was "comharba of
clxxviii INTRODUCTION.
Columcille and Adamnan." During his presidency, certain grants
were made to Kells, recorded in the fourth of the Charters con
tained in the Book of KeUs (Miscell. Ir. Arch. Soc. pp. 136-140).
XXXIX.— KOBHARTACH. Coarb 1040-1057.
Son of Ferdomnach, probably of No. xxxv., for the successorship
of Columcille, like that of St. Patrick, was becoming hereditary.
Kells appears to be still the official seat of the coarb of Columcille.
The Four Masters, at 1057,' style this Robhartach " comharba of
Columcille and Adamnan."
XL. — GlOLLACRlST. Coarb 1057-1062.
Surnamed Ua Maeldoraidh. The family to which he belonged
was the senior line of the race of Conall Gulban, and enjoyed the
lordship of Cinell-Conaill before the O'Donnells rose into power.
See the entry at the year 1026, supra. The individual who figures
at 1070 (App. III.), was probably the son of the present coarb.
XLL — DOMHNALL. Coarb 1062-1098.
Surnamed Ua Robhartaigh. The family of which he was a
member were a branch of the Cinel Conaill, and, in after times,
herenachs of Tory island. The name was probably derived from
Robhartach, the coarb of Columcille, who died in 954. It is still
common in Donegal in the form O'Roarty, and in Leinster, of
O'Rafferty. The family of Mac Robhartaigh were of the same
line. They were herenachs of Bally magrorty, in the parishes of
Drumhome and Templemore, and their name still exists in the
neighbourhood in the form M 'Grotty. They were also keepers of
the Cathach of Columcille. The present individual was abbot of
Kells when the case of the Cathach was made, and his name
appears in the inscription upon it, in the form Domnall mac
Robartaig. Mention is also made of him in the charters of Kells.
Maelmaire Ua Robhartaigh was cinn an Disirt Oenannsa, " Head of
the Hermitage of Kells," circ. 1135 (Miscell. Ir. Arch. Soc. p. 128).
During the presidency of Domhnall, Cormac Mac Rechtogain was
vice-herenach of Kells (ib. p. 130). In 1190, a member of the
family was prior of Durrow.
XLII. — FERDOMHNACH. Coarb 1098-1114.
Surnamed Ua Clucain. He was abbot of Kells, and the third
of the Kells Charters records a transaction of his incum
bency. The officials under him were Oengus Ua Domhnallain, the
anmchara or confessarius, who was also Coarb of the Disert of
Columcille at Kells (322, ob. 1109) ; O'Breslan, priest ; Oisin Mac
Eachtghail, ostiarius of Kells (Miscell. Ir. Arch. Soc. pp. 132, 136).
The family of O'Clucain seems to have been one of influence at
Kells, for another member of it was abbot at 1154, and a third,
lector, during his incumbency.
XLIII— MAELBKIGHDE. Coarb 1114-1117.
Surnamed Mac Ronain. In the seventh charter of Kells is the
name of a coarb of Columcille, which is partly illegible, but the
INTRODUCTION.
portion which is distinct, namely, Maelbrig . . . nan, seems re
ferable to this abbot j(Miscell. Ir. Arch. Soc. p. 148). Whether
owing to the decline of Kells, or the growing influence of Derry,
or what is more probable, the commencement of diocesan episcopacy
in Ireland, the title of Coarb of Columcitle is intermitted in the
Annals at this period, and is afterwards resumed, more as an
honorary than a real dignity. It is continued, indeed, in the
Charters of Kells, to the abbots of that church, but when next
it appears in the Annals, it is transferred to Derry, which church
seems to have derived an impulse at this period from its connexion
with Armagh (see An. 1122, 1137), but more especially from the
circumstance that the southern Hy Neill of Meath, under whose
patronage, during the long-continued period that they were
supreme, the chief monastery of their territory proportionately
flourished, had now declined in power, and the Cinel Eoghain, the
chief branch of the northern Hy Neill, now represented by the
Mac Lochlainns, and afterwards by the O'Neills, were rising into
power, whose various clanns, scattered over Tyrone, exercised
their influence in Armagh, while their kinsmen of Jnis-Eoghain,
having Derry in their territory, in a great measure controlled its
appointments also.
XLIV.— CONANG. Coarb 1117-1128.
Surnamed Ua Beigleighinn. This name is not recorded elsewhere
in the Annals, and nothing more is known of the individual than
the entry of his obit in the Four Masters.
XLV. — GIOLLA-ADHAMNAIN. Coarb 1128-circ. 1138.
Surnamed Ua Coirthen. This name does not occur in the Annals,
and it is introduced in this place on the authority of the fifth
Charter of Kells, which, though undated, is referable to this period.
It makes mention of Giolla-Adomnan Ua Coirthen, coarb of
Columcille ; Maelmartin Ua Brestlen, priest of Kells ; Guaire Ua
Clucain, lector of Kells ; Oengus Mac Gillabain, herenach of the
hospital ; Muiredhach, son of Mac Rechtacan, vice-herenach ; and
Oengus Ua Gamhna, chief of the Scologes or farmers (Miscell. Ir.
Arch. Soc. p. 140).
XL VI. — MUIEEDHACH. Coarb circ. 1138-1150.
Surnamed Ua Clucain, of the same family as his predecessor,
No. XLII. During his presidency the Disert of Kells received the
endowment recorded in the first Charter of Kells. The grant
was made by Muiredhach Ua Clucain, abbot of Kells ; Conaing Ua
Breslen, the priest ; Guaire Ua Clucain, the lector ; and Aedh, son
of Mac Rechtogan, the vice-herenach. It was made " to God, and
to Columcille, and to Bishop O'Ceallaigh, the senior of all the men
of Meath, and to Maelmaire Ua Robarthaigh, head of the Disert "
(Miscell. Ir. Arch. Soc. p. 128). During his, and the four pre
ceding incumbencies, Kells appears to have been losing ground in
its Columbian associations, until 1150, when Flaithbertach Ua
Brolchain was elected abbot of Derry, and was acknowledged the
coarb of Columcille.
clxxx INTRODUCTION.
XLVIL— FLAITHBERTACH. Coarb 1150-1175.
Surnamed Ua Brolchain. The family of Ua Brolchain were
descended from Suibhne Meann, who was king of Ireland in 615,
and belonged to the Cinel Feradhaich, a clan so called from
Feradhach, grandfather of that Suibhne Meann, and fourth in de
scent from Eoghaii, the founder of the Cinel-Eoghain race. The
Cinel Feradhaich are now territorially represented by the barony
of Clogher, in the south of the county of Tyrone. The first of the
O'Brolchan family who is mentioned in the Annals was Maelbrighde
Ua Brolchan, styled prim saer Erenn ["chief mason of Ireland" —
Old Vers.], whose obit is entered in the Ann. Ult. at 1029. From
him probably the masonic art of the family was derived, which
was cultivated by Flaherty, and practised by Donnell, with such
success. The next was Maeliosa, the lector whose obit is entered
above at 1086. He spent a part of his early life at Both-chonais
in Inishowen, in the neighbourhood of which some of his writings
were preserved in Colgan's time ; and afterwards he founded a
church seemingly at Lismore, called the derteac Maeiliosa, " Oratory
of Maeliosa," which was burned in 1116. He died on the 16th of
January, justly celebrated for his learning (Colgan, Acta SS. p.
108). His son, Aedh, succeeded him in the calling of professor,
and died in 1095. Two years afterwards a son of Maelbrighde,
surnamed Mac-an-tsaeir, who was bishop of Kildare, died. Mael-
colaim Ua Brolchain, bishop of Armagh, died in 1122 ; and Mael
brighde Ua Brolchain, also bishop of Armagh, died, Jan. 29, 1139.
The latter was probably father of the coarb Flaithbertach, whom
the Annals of Ulster, at 1164, call Flaithbertach mac in espuic hui
Brolcain, " Flaithbertach, son of the bishop Ua Brolchan," a lineage
by no means in accordance with the delicacy of the Four Masters,
and which, when copying the entry, they divest of its objectional
character, in simply calling him Flaithbertach Ua Brolchain.
Domhnall Ua Brolchain was prior of Derry, and died Apr. 27,
1202. His name is inscribed on one of the capitals in the cathedral
of Hy, in the form Donaldus Obrolcan (vid. 1202, App. III.) Finn
Ua Brolchan was steward of O'Donnell in 1213 ; and Flann Ua
Brolchain was coarb of Columcille in 1219. In 1548 died Sir
John Obrolchan, rector of Kildalton, in Islay (Orig. Paroch. vol. ii.
p. 269). The name was afterwards written WBrollaghan, and is
now corrupted, in Ulster, to Bradley. Through the influence of
" Gilla-mac-Liag or Gelasius, the abbot of Armagh, who had himself
been previously abbot of Derry (an. 1137), Flaithbertach Ua Brol
chain was raised to the dignity of bishop in 1158, as is thus
recorded by the Four Masters : "A synod of the clergy of Ireland
was convened at Bri-mic-Taidhg, in Meath, where there were
present 25 bishops, with the Legate of the coarb of Peter, to
ordain rules and good morals. It was on this occasion that the
clergy of Ireland, with the coarb of Patrick, ordered a chair, like
every other bishop's, for the coarb of Columcille, Flaithbertach Ua
Brolchain, and the arch-abbacy of the churches of Ireland in
general." He was a zealous advancer of the welfare of Derry, and
during his incumbency many important additions were made to its
ecclesiastical buildings ; to procure funds for which, the abbot had,
during the years 1150, 1151, 1153, 1161, visited, and obtained
contributions from various territories in Ulster and Ossory. After
INTRODUCTION. clxxxi
a long life spent in the energetic discharge of his duties, he died in
1175, at which year his obit is thus recorded by the Four Masters :
" Flaithbertach Ua Brolchain, coarb of Columcille, a tower of
wisdom and hospitality, a man on whom, on account of his good
ness and wisdom, the clergy of Ireland had bestowed a bishop's
chair, and to whom the abbacy of Hy \comhorbus lae] had been
offered (an. 1164), died in righteousness, after exemplary sickness,
in the Duibhregles of Columcille : and Gilla-mac-Liag Ua Branain
was appointed to his place in the abbacy."
XLVIIL— GIOLLA-MAC-LIAG. Coarb 1175-1198.
Surnamed Ua Branain. A member of his family was herenach
of Derry in 1150, and became abbot in 1219. The family of Ua
Branain, now commonly called Brannan, belonged to the Cinel
Tighernaigh, a branch of the powerful Cinel Eoghain race. The
present abbot resigned in 1198. The name Gilla-mac-Liag, in the
case of a predecessor, is latinized Gelasius.
XLIX. — GIOLLACRIST. Coarb Il$8-circ. 1202.
Surnamed Ua Cernaigh, a name now commonly known under the
form 0' Kearney. The Four Masters state, at 1198, that he "was
elected coarb of Columcille by the unanimous suffrages of the clergy
and laity of the north of Ireland." The Annals of Ulster at
1210, and of the Four Masters at 1209, in recording his obit,
style him "Coarb of Condere," implying that previously to that
date he had become abbot of Connor.
Fordun (Bowar) relates that I-Columkill was the burial-place
of all the kings of Pictland and Scotland until the time of Mal
colm, the husband of St. Margaret (i. 6, ii. 10). The Kegistry of
St. Andrews goes further, and makes it not only the place of his
interment, but the resting-place of Duncan's bones. The church
of the Holy Trinity of Dunfermline, however, was the true reci
pient of the mortal remains both of Malcolm and his wife, and
thenceforward Hy ceased to be a royal cemetery. But Queen
Margaret, previously to 1093, had erected in Hy a monument
of her piety, and the chapel in the Eeilig Oran, the oldest
edifice in the island, probably dates its origin from the exhibi
tion of her liberality recorded by Ordericus Vitalis : — " Inter
cetera bona quse nobilis hera fecerat, Huense Ccenobium, quod
servus Christi Colurnba tempore Brudei Regis Pictorum filii
Meilocon, construxerat, sed tempestate praeliorum cum longa
clxxxii INTRODUCTION.
vetustate dirutum fuerat, fidelis Kegina resedificavit, datisque
sumptibus idoneis ad opus Domini Monachis reparavit." It
was only four years after her death when Magnus, King of
Norway, " opened the smaller church of Kollum-Killa," pro
bably a chapel built over St. Columba's reputed tomb, on the
occasion of his visiting the Holy Island. The seizure of the
Western Isles by this warrior, in the following year, caused the
annexation of the Isles to the bishopric of Man, and the sub
jection of the united dioceses to the metropolitan of Trondhjem,
which in great measure severed the island of Hy from its old
associations, so that, with the exception of an abbot's obit at
1099, it is unnoticed for above half a century in the Irish
Annals. In the meantime, Somerlid, the Regulus deHerer-Gaedel,
married a daughter of king Olave, the successor of Magnus, who
brought him four sons, one of whom, Dubhgall, was thrust into
the sovereignty of the Isles in 1154. Consequently, a war
ensued, and in 1,156 the strife was terminated by the cession to
Somerlid and his sons of the southern isles, including Hy, a
measure which naturally terminated the Norwegian ascendancy,
and restored the supremacy of the Celtic influence around. As
a result, the abbacy of Hy was offered, in 1164, at the instance
of the king, and with the unanimous consent of the church
officials, to Flaherty O'Brolchan, the energetic abbot of Derry,
who, in addition to his dignity of Coarb of Columcille, had
received, in 1158, the now important qualification of episcopal
orders. Domestic influence prevented the offer from being
accepted ; but the Irish element, already indicated by the names
of the ecclesiastical functionaries, in 1 164, seems to have rapidly
increased, and to the period of its development we may possibly
refer the erection of the central portion of the Cathedral.
Bishop O'Brolchain was busily employed, towards the close of
the twelfth century, in re-edifying the ecclesiastical buildings of
Derry ; and to a kinsman of his is probably attributable the
commencement of the most important structure now existing in
Hy. The unusual record on the capital of the tower column,
INTRODUCTION. clxxxiii
DONALDVS OBROLCHAN FECIT HOC opvs, and the coincidence of
that record with the obit of Domhnall Ua Brolchain in the
Annals of Ulster at 1203, and of the Four Masters at 1202, the
same name in its Irish form, are sufficient, if not to satisfy the
mind, at least to afford material for reasonable conjecture, as to
the builder. In 1203, Michael, bishop of the Isles, died at
Fountain Abbey, and was succeeded, according to the Chronicle
of Man, by NicJwlus, whom Torfseus calls Kolus, observing that,
for the forty years preceding, the Hsebudse were without an
actual bishop ; that is, that the office, as regarded the Isles, was
nothing more than titular. But forty years, subtracted from
1203, bring us back precisely to the date at which Somerlid and
the clergy of Hy solicited the services of St. Columba's coarb
in Derry. This Nicholas or Kolus may have made an effort to
establish his authority in Hy, and he may have been the CellacTi
of whom the Irish Annals make mention in a most interesting
record of 1203, the year of Nicholas's accession to the see of the
Isles ; which Nicholas, whether identical with Cellach or not,
certainly seems to have had some connexion with Ifeland, for
when he died he was buried at Bangor in Ulster.
" A monastery was erected by Cellach, without any legal right,
and in despite of the family of Hy, in the middle of Cro-Hy, and
he did considerable damage to the town. The clergy of the North
assembled together to pass over into Hy, namely, Florence O'Caro-
lan, bishop of Tyrone ; Maelisa O'Deery, bishop of Tirconnell, and
abbot of the abbey-church of Paul and Peter at Armagh ; Awley
O'Ferghail, abbot of the abbey-church of Derry, with Ainmire
O'Coffey, many of the family of Derry, and a great number of the
northern clergy beside. They passed over into Hy, and, in accord
ance with the law of the Church, they subsequently pulled down
the monastery : and the aforesaid Awley was elected abbot of Hy
by the suffrages of Foreigners and Gaeidhel."
The passage here cited is the parting mention of Hy in the Irish
Annals, and as it closes a long list of notices, running through
nearly seven centuries, it leaves the island as it found it, in the
hands of Irish ecclesiastics, an important outpost of the Irish
Clxxxiv INTRODUCTION.
Church, a centre of union between provinces whose people were
of one blood, and who were enrolled under one name in the list
of nations, till the accident of time limited to one the common
name of both, and the accident of place created separate, and
sometimes rival interests.
SHOWING THEIE AFFINITY TO ONE ANOTHER, AND THEIE CONN
CONSTRUCTED, FROM THE NAEMHSEANCHUS, AND OTHER AN(
CONAL
a quo Ci
FERGUS C
orDu
ZNNFADA = ERCA
ach, d. of Loarn
Mor.
SEDNA
a quo Siol Sedna
NlNNIDH
AlNMIRE
King of Ireland,
ob. 569 (p. 120).
AEDH
King of Ireland,
ob. 598 (pp, 121,
122, 145).
!
COLMAN
or Colum.
AEDH
LUGHAIDH
a quo Cinel
Luighdeach.
BAEDAN FERADHACH
King of Ireland, or Fergus.
ob. 586.
DUACH
fi]
AMHALGAIDH
PJPAN
RONAN ILatgren FIACHNA
third abbot, ob. or Fiachra.
Sep. 16, 605 (p. 131).
LELCOBHA DOMHNALL TINNE
j of Ireland, King of Ireland, a quo
ob. 615. ob. 642 (pp. 121, Ua Tinne.
146, 198).
GARBH Segfyne ERNAN
fifth abbot, ob.
Aug. 12, 652 (p. 113).
CELLACH AEJ
ob. 658.
DOMHNALL LOING
Lord of C
aill, 672,
Ireland,
DONNCHADH FLAITHB
King of
ob.
RUAIDHRI AEDH M
RUARCAN DOMHNA
GALLCHOBHAR LOIN
o quo O'Gall-
agher.
GUS RONAN= RONNAT
of the Cint
Enna.
SECH Stoamttan
inel Con- ninth abbot,
King of ob. Sept 23,
ob. 703. 704.
HERTACH
Ireland,
734.
CENNFAELADH Cuitntne Jftonn Becan
seventh abbot, ob. ob. Mar. 17,
Feb. 24, 669 (p. 197). 677.
tfatlbhe
eighth abbot,
ob. Mar. 22,
679 (p. 113).
MAELDUIN FIAMAN
AIRNELACH MAENGALL BRAI
SNJSDGAILE DOCHARTACH BAIG
a quo O'Dogherty. a quo 0
MAELDUIN DOMH>
1 aquoO
jHann
twenty-fourth
abbot, ob.
Apr. 24, 891.
MUIRCERTACH
AGAN DALACH
Lord of Cinel Con
aill, ob. 869.
IELL ElONECHAN
Boyle. Lord of Cinel Con
aill, ob. 906.
JINDERG MURCHADH
Lord of Cinel Conaill
ob. 767.
LL CEIRIC MAELBRESAIL
Lord of Cinel Conail
ob. 817.
3SECH AENGUS
ALL MOR Stoftiann
Donnell. Coarb of Colum-
cille, ob. 950.
FLAITHBHERTACH
CANANNAN
a quo O'Canannan.
MAELDORAIDH
a quo O'Muldory.
Note.— The genealogy ofFergna Britt, the fourth
too long. The pedigree of Suibhne mac Cuirtre, th
mac Failbhe, the tenth abbot, was of the race of '
in this Table. CUline Droichtcch, the fourteen!
being eighth in descent from Conall Crimthann, s<
tions are wanting in the line of Dalach, to bring
proper place.
prl2 Abbots of Is,
clxxxv
WITH THE CHIEF FAMILIES OF TIRCONNELL.
AUTHORITIES, BY WILLIAM BEEVES, D.D.
IBAN
.ill.
FEDHUM = EITHNE
BRKNANN
LOARN
GINTECH
ENNA BOGHAINE
a qua Banagh (p. 63).
ANGIN
II I I I
3 EOGHAN ISaitrjcne Cobthach RONAN RODAIQHE
,ob. orlogen second abbot, OneofSt Columba's or Cronan.
|, 597. (p. Ixxii). ob. Jun. 9, 600. disciples (p. Ixxii).
(p. 215).
AEDH
DONNCHADH
DOMHNALL
I.tiL
Caiman L«i'.<re Scc/hine FAELAN MAILRUBHA
(Tr. Th. p. 480, Dec. 26 (Tr. Th. (Tr. Th. 482, 38
Ir. Nen. cvi.) 481, Ir. Nen. cvi.) Ir. Nen. cvi.)
25.
FlROIL
a quo O'Freel the
herenachs of Cillmacnenain.
, . J i -eems to be at least one generation
M£U»*»~««**"-"
f rJ Uais and therefore does not appear
'TPe°nd)0^ of the Southern Hy Neill,
I he also is excluded. Three genera-
Sgsfdhisgrandson^Wa"lintotheir
[MAC LAJSRE]
ALTA
Dorbene Fada
Prior of Hy, ob. Oct.
28, 713 (p. 218).
SLEBHINE FAILBHE
CiiTAN Odhmn
Oct. 27
(pp. 288-9).
FORTHENN
DUBHDUIN JFfrgnaBrtt I-JNAN-
fourth abbot, ob.
Mar. 2, 623.
CONGAL
Ablan MadduibTi
or Mo-Ab. Dec. 23.
Slrbhtne Cillene
fifteenth abbot, ob. 752
ob. Mar. 2, 767.
MAELCAICH
TORNAN = SAERFLAITH
d. of Cuile-
badh.
fHaelbriflifce
CoarbofS'mcille,
NATHI
LUGHAIDH [NATHI]
GlNNTECH
AEDAN
FAELAN
LlBIR
FERGUS
TlNSK
FAILBHE DORBBNE
COXGAL jfatlru
twelfth abbot,
ob. Ap. 3, 724.
DlCHUBUS
BAETHECTRA
FERGUS
MAELUIDHIR
DUBHAN
CAENCOMHRAC
abbot and bishop of
Bubhtharfj
Coarb of Columcille,
ob. Oct. 7, 938.
THE LIFE OF SAINT COLUMBA.
IN THE NAME OF JESUS CHRIST.— THE PREFACE BEGINNETH.
IN beginning, with the help of Christ, in compliance with
the urgent requests of my brethren, to write the life of our
blessed Patron, I shall take care to warn, in the first place,
others who may read it, to believe the facts which it records,
and to attend more to the matter than to the words, which, as
I think, sound harsh and barbarous. Let them remember that
the kingdom of God consisteth not in richness of eloquence,
but in the blossoming of faith, and let them not for any names
of men, or tribes, or obscure places in the base Scotic tongue,
which, as I think, seem rude when compared with the various
languages of foreign nations, despise a record of useful deeds
wrought not without the help of God. We must also warn our
readers that many other things regarding this man of blessed
memory, well worthy of being told, have been omitted for the
sake of brevity ; in order not to tire their patience, a few only
out of many have been recorded here. And this, as I think,
every person who reads the following work will perhaps observe,
that of the great actions of the same holy man, popular fame
has published the less important, when compared even with
the few which we shall now briefly relate. From this point,
in this our first brief preface, I now proceed, with the help of
God, to explain in the commencement of the second, the
name of our holy prelate.
THE LIFE OF SAINT COLUMBA.
IN THE NAME OF JESUS CHRIST.— THE SECOND PREFACE.
THERE was a man of venerable life and blessed memory, the
father and founder of monasteries, having the same name as
Jonah the prophet ; for though its sound is different in the three
different languages, yet its signification is the same in all : what
in Hebrew is lona, in the Greek language is called Tlepicrrepa,
and in the Latin Columba. Such and so great a name was not
given, it is believed, to the man of God without a special pro
vidence. For according to the faith of the Gospels, the Holy
Ghost is shown to have descended on the only begotten Son of
the Eternal Father, in the form of that little bird called the
dove ; and hence for the most part in the sacred books the dove
is known to designate in a mystical sense the Holy Ghost.
Hence also our Saviour in His Gospel has ordered His disciples
to preserve the simplicity of the dove ingrafted in a pure heart,
for the dove is a simple and innocent bird. By that name,
therefore, it was meet that the simple and innocent man should
be called, who gave to the Holy Ghost a dwelling-place in him
self by his dove-like ways ; a name to which may with pro
priety be applied what is written in the Proverbs, "A good
name is rather to be chosen than great riches." Justly, there
fore, not only from the days of his infancy was our president, by
the gift of God, honoured by this special name, but even many
long years before his birth it was given to him as a child of the
promise in a wonderful prophecy of a soldier of Christ to whom
it was revealed by the Holy Ghost. For Maucta, a pilgrim from
Britain, a holy man, a disciple of St. Patrick the Bishop, gave
the following prophecy of our Patron, as is known by us on the
testimony of learned ancients. " In the last ages of the world,"
he said, " a son shall be born, whose name Columba shall be
announced in every province of the isles of the ocean, and bril
liantly shall he enlighten the last ages of the earth. The little
farms of his small monastery and of mine shall be divided by
the boundary of a narrow fence, and he shall be a man most
dear to God, and of great merit in His sight." In describing
the life and character of our Columba, I shall in the first place,
as briefly as I can, give a general summary, and place before
my readers' eyes an image of his holy life. I also briefly shall
notice some of his miracles, as a foretaste to those who eagerly
read them, the more detailed account of which shall be given
in the three last books. The first shall be his prophetical
revelations — the second his divine virtues wrought by him —
the third the apparitions of angels and some manifestations of
THE SECOND PEEFACE. 3
the brightness of heaven upon the man of God. Let no one
think of me as either stating what is not true regarding so great
a man, or recording anything doubtful or uncertain. Let him
know that I will tell with all candour, and without any
ambiguity, what I have learned from the consistent narrative
of my predecessors, trustworthy and discerning men, and that
my narrative is founded either on written authorities anterior
to my own times, or on what I have myself heard from some
learned and faithful ancients, unhesitatingly attesting facts, the
truth of which they had themselves diligently inquired into.
St. Columba then was born of noble parents; his father
was Fedilmith, son of Fergus, and his mother was Aethne,
whose father can be called in Latin Filius Navis, but in the
Scotic tongue Mac Nave. In the second year after the battle
of Culedrebina (fought A.D. 561), and in the forty-second of his
age, St. Columba, resolving to seek a foreign country for the
love of Christ, sailed from Scotia (Ireland) to Britain. From
his boyhood he had been brought up in Christian training in the
study of wisdom, and by the grace of God had so preserved the
integrity of his body, and the purity of soul, that though dwell
ing on earth he appeared to live like the saints in heaven. For
he was angelic in appearance, graceful in speech, holy in work,
with talents of the highest order, and consummate prudence ;
he lived a soldier of Christ during thirty-four years in an island.
He never could spend the space of even one hour without
study, or prayer, or writing, or some other holy occupation. So
incessantly was he engaged night and day in the unwearied
exercise of fasting and watching, that the burden of each of
these austerities would seem beyond the power of all human
endurance. And still in all these he was beloved by all, for a
h°ty j°7 ever beaming on his face revealed the joy and gladness
with which the Holy Spirit filled his inmost soul.
BOOK I.
OF HIS PEOPHETIC EEVELATIONS.
CHAPTER I.
A brief narrative of his great Miracles.
ACCORDING to the promise given above, I shall commence
this book with a brief account of the evidences which the
venerable man gave of his power. By virtue of his prayer, and
in the name of our Lord Jesus Christ, he healed several persons
suffering under various diseases; and he alone, by the assistance
of God, expelled from this our island, which now has the
primacy, innumerable hosts of malignant spirits, whom he saw
with his bodily eyes assailing himself, and beginning to bring
deadly distempers on his monastic brotherhood. Partly by
mortification, and partly by a bold resistance, he subdued, with
the help of Christ, the furious rage of wild beasts. The surging
waves, also, at times rolling mountains high in a great tempest,
became quickly at his prayer quiet and smooth, and his ship,
in which he then happened to be, reached the desired haven in
a perfect calm.
When returning from the country of the Picts, where he had
been for some days, he hoisted his sail when the breeze was
against him to confound the Druids, and made as rapid a
voyage as if the wind had been favourable. On other occa
sions, also, contrary winds were at his prayers changed into
fair. In that same country, he took a white stone from the
river, and blessed it for the working of certain cures ; and
that stone, contrary to nature, floated like an apple when
placed in water. This divine miracle was wrought in the pre
sence of King Brude and his household. In the same country,
also, he performed a still greater miracle, by raising to life the
dead child of an humble believer, and restoring him in life and
THE LIFE OF SAINT COLUMBA. BOOK I. 5
vigour to his father and mother. At another time, while
the blessed man was yet a young deacon in Hibernia, resid
ing with the holy bishop Findbarr, the wine required for the
sacred mysteries failed, and he changed by his prayer pure
water into true wine. An immense blaze of heavenly light
was on many and wholly distinct occasions seen by some of
the brethren to surround him in the light of day, as well as in
the darkness of the night. He was also favoured with the
sweet and most delightful society of bright hosts of the holy
angels. He often saw, by the revelation of the Holy Ghost,
the souls of some just men carried by angels to the highest
heavens. And the reprobates too he very frequently beheld
carried to hell by demons. He very often foretold the future
deserts, sometimes joyful, and sometimes sad, of many per
sons while they were still living in mortal flesh. In the
dreadful crash of wars he obtained from God, by the virtue of
prayer, that some kings should be conquered, and others come
off victorious. And such a grace as this he enjoyed, not only
while alive in this world, but even after his departure from
the flesh, as God, from whom all the saints derive their honour,
has made him still a victorious and most valiant champion in
battle. I shall give one example of especial honour conferred
by Almighty God on this honourable man, the event having
occurred the day before the Saxon prince Oswald went forth to
fight with Cation (Ceadualla of Bede), a very valiant king of the
Britons. For as this same King Oswald, after pitching his
camp, in readiness for the battle, was sleeping one day on
a pillow in his tent, he saw St. Columba in a vision, beam
ing with angelic brightness, and of figure so majestic that
his head seemed to touch the clouds. The blessed man
having announced his name to the king, stood in the midst
of the camp, and covered it all with his brilliant garment,
except at one small distant point; and at the same time
he uttered those cheering words which the Lord spake to
Jesua Ben Nun before the passage of the Jordan, after Moses'
death, saying, " Be strong and of a good courage ; behold, I
shall be with thee," etc. Then St. Columba having said these
words to the king in the vision, added, " March out this fol
lowing night from your camp to battle, for on this occasion the
Lord has granted to me that your foes shall be put to flight,
that your enemy Cation shall be delivered into your hands, and
that after the battle you shall return in triumph, and have
a happy reign." The king, awaking at these words, assembled
his council and related the vision, at which they were all
encouraged ; and so the whole people promised that, after their
0 THE LIFE OF SAINT COLUMBA. BOOK I.
return from the war, they would believe and be baptized, for
up to that time all that Saxon land had been wrapt in the
darkness of paganism and ignorance, with the exception of
King Oswald and the twelve men who had been baptized with
him during his exile among the Scots. What more need I
say ? On the very next night, King Oswald, as he had been
directed in the vision, went forth from his camp to battle, and
had a much smaller army than the numerous hosts opposed to
him, yet he obtained from the Lord, according to His promise,
an easy and decisive victory — for King Cation was slain, and
the conqueror, on his return after the battle, was ever after
established by God as the Bretwalda of all Britain. I, Adam-
nan, had this narrative from the lips of my predecessor, the
Abbot Failbe, who solemnly declared that he had himself heard
King Oswald relating this same vision to Segine the abbot.
But another fact must not be omitted, that by some poems '
composed in the Scotic language in praise of the same blessed
man, and by the commemoration of his name, certain wicked
men of lewd conversation, and men of blood, were saved from the
hands of their enemies, who in the night had surrounded the
house in which they were singing these hymns. They safely
escaped through the flames, the swords, and the spears ; and,
strange to tell, a few of those only who despised these commemo
rations of the holy man, and refused to join in the hymns,
perished in that assault of the enemy. It is not two or three
witnesses, as the law requires, but even hundreds and more, that
could be cited in proof of this miracle. Nor is it in one place or
on one occasion only that the same is known to have happened,
but even at different times and places, in both Scotia (Ireland)
and Britain, it is proved beyond all doubt that the like security
was obtained, in the same manner and by the same means. I
have learned this for certain, from well-informed men in those
very countries where similar miracles have taken place.
But, to return to the point in hand : among the miracles
which this same man of the Lord, while dwelling in mortal
flesh, performed by the gift of God, was his foretelling the
future by the spirit of prophecy, with which he was highly
favoured from his early years, and making known to 'those who
were present what was happening in other places : for though
absent in body he was present in spirit, and could look on
things that were widely apart, according to the words of St.
Paul, " He that is joined unto the Lord is one spirit."
Hence this same man of the Lord, St. Columba, when a few
of the brethren would sometimes inquire into the matter, did
not deny but that by some divine intuition, and through a
THE LIFE OF SAINT COLUMBA. BOOK I. 7
wonderful expansion of his inner soul, lie beheld the whole
universe drawn together and laid open to his sight, as in one
ray of the sun.
This account of the miracles of the holy man I have given
here for this purpose, that my reader, in this brief sketch, may
have a foretaste of the richer banquet which is before him, in
the fuller narrative which is to be given, with the assistance of
the Lord, in the three following books. Here it appears to me
not improper, though it may be out of the usual order, to record
some prophecies which the blessed man gave at different times,
regarding certain holy and illustrious men.
CHAPTEK II.
Of St. Finten the Abbot, son of Tailchan.
ST. FINTEN, who was afterwards very well known through
out all the churches of the Scots, having, by the grace of God,
preserved from his boyhood purity of body and soul, and being
devoted to the study of divine wisdom, had nourished from his
youthful years this one resolve in his heart, that he would leave
Hibernia and go abroad to St. Columba. Burning with that
desire, he went to an old friend, the most prudent and vener
able cleric in his country, who was called in the Scotic tongue
Columb Crag, to get some sound advice from him. When he
had laid open his mind to him, he received the following
answer : " As thy devout wish is, I feel, inspired by God, who
can presume to say that thou shouldest not cross the sea to St.
Columba ?" At the same moment two monks of St. Columba
happened to arrive, and when they were asked about their
journey, they replied : "We have lately come across from Britain,
and to-day we have come from the Oakwood of Calgach (Daire
Calgaich, or Deny). "Is he well," says Columb Crag, " your holy
father Columba?" Then they burst into tears, and answered
with great sorrow, " Our patron is indeed well, for a few days
ago he departed to Christ." Hearing this, Finten and Columb,
and all who were there present, fell on their faces on the ground,
and wept bitterly. Finten then asked, " Whom did he leave
as his successor ?" " Baithene, his disciple," they replied. And
as all cried out, " It is meet and right," Columba said to Finten,
" What wilt thou now do, Finten ?" He answered, " With God's
permission, I will sail over to Baithene, that wise and holy
man, and if he receive me I will take him as my abbot." Then
kissing the forementioned Columb, and bidding him farewell, he
prepared for his voyage, and setting sail without the least delay,
8 THE LIFE OF SAINT COLUMBA. BOOK I.
arrived at the louan island (Hy, now corruptly lona). As up
to that time his name was wholly unknown in those places, he
was only received at first with the hospitality given to every un
known stranger ; but next day he sent a messenger to Baithene,
and asked to have a personal interview. Baithene, ever kind and
affable to strangers, ordered him to be introduced. Being at once
brought in, he first, as seemed meet, knelt down upon the ground;
and then being ordered by the holy abbot to rise and be seated,
he was asked by Baithene, who as yet knew nothing of his family,
province, name, or life, what was his motive for encountering
the labour of the voyage. In reply to the inquiry thus made
he told everything in order, and then humbly asked to be ad
mitted. The holy abbot, hearing these things from his guest,
and recognising him at the same time as the man of whom St.
Columba had some time previously made a prophecy, replied :
" Truly, my son, I ought to give thanks to my God for thy
arrival, but be thou assured of this, that thou wilt not be one
of our monks." On hearing this the stranger was very much
grieved, and said : " Perhaps I am unworthy to become thy
monk." " It is not because thou art unworthy, as thou sayest,
that I gave that answer," immediately replied the abbot, " for I
would indeed prefer retaining you with me, but I cannot dis
obey the command of St. Columba, my predecessor, by whom
the Holy Ghost prophesied of thee. For, as I was alone with
him one day, among other things which he foretold was the
following : ' Hearken very attentively, 0 Baithene,' said he,
' to these my words, for shortly after my welcome and earnestly
longed-for departure from this world to Christ, a certain brother
from Scotia (Ireland), named Finten, son of Tailchan, of the tribe
Mocumoie, who is now carefully guarding his youthful years
with a good life, and is very well versed in sacred studies, will,
I say, come to thee, and humbly ask thee to receive and enrol
him with your other monks. But this has not been appointed
for him in the foreknowledge of God, that he should become
the monk of any abbot, for he has long since been chosen of
God to be an abbot of monks and a leader of souls to the king
dom of heaven. Thou shalt not therefore detain that illustrious
man with thee on these islands of ours, lest thou shouldst even
seem to oppose the will of God, but thou shalt make known to
him what I have told thee, and send him back in peace to
Scotia (Ireland), that he may found a monastery in the parts of
the Leinstermen, near the sea, and that there feeding the flock of
Christ, he shall lead a countless host of souls to their heavenly
country.'" The holy youth hearing this burst into tears, and
returning thanks to Christ, said : " Be it unto me according to
THE LIFE OF SAINT COLUMBA. BOOK I. 9
the prophecy and wonderful foreknowledge of St. Columba."
At the same time, in obedience to the words of the saints, he
received the blessing of Baithene, and sailed back in peace to
Scotia (Ireland).
I have heard this as an undoubted fact from the lips of an
aged and pious priest and soldier of Christ, called Oissene, son
of Ernan, of the tribe Mocu Neth Corb, who averred that he had
himself heard these very words from the lips of St. Finten, son
of Tailchan, whose monk he himself had been.
CHAPTEE III.
Prophecy of St. Columba regarding Ernene, son of Crasen.
ON another occasion, while the blessed man was residing for
a few months in the midland part of Hibernia, when founding
by divine inspiration his monastery, which in the Scotic tongue
is called Dair-mag (Durrow), was pleased to pay a visit to the
brethren who dwelt in St. Ceran's monastery, Clon (Clonmac-
noise). As soon as it was known that he was near, all flocked
from their little grange farms near the monastery, and, along
with those who were within it, ranged themselves, with enthu
siasm, under the abbot Alither; then advancing beyond the
enclosure of the monastery, they went out as one man to
meet St. Columba, as if he were an angel of the Lord.
Humbly bowing down, with their faces to the ground, in his
presence, they kissed him most reverently, and singing hymns
of praise as they went they conducted him with all honour
to the Church. Over the saint, as he walked, a canopy made
of wood was supported by four men walking by his side, lest
the holy abbot, St. Columba, should be troubled by the crowd
of brethren pressing upon him. At that very time, a boy
attached to the monastery, who was mean in dress and look,
and hitherto had not stood well in the opinions of the
seniors, concealing himself as well as he could, came forward
stealthily, that he might touch unperceived even the hem of the
cloak which the blessed man wore, without his feeling or know
ing it. This, however, did not escape the saint, for he knew
with the eyes of his soul what he could not see taking place
behind him with the eyes of his body. Stopping therefore
suddenly, and putting out his hand behind him, he seized the
boy by the neck, and bringing him round set him before his
face. The crowd of bystanders cried out : " Let him go, let
him go : why do you touch that unfortunate and naughty
10 THE LIFE OF SAINT COLUMBA. BOOK I.
boy ? " But the saint solemnly uttered these prophetic words
from his pure heart : " Suffer it to be so now, brethren ; " then
turning to the boy, who was in the greatest terror, he said,
" My son, open thy mouth, and put out thy tongue." The boy
did as he was bid, and in great alarm opened his mouth and put
out his tongue : the saint extended to it his holy hand, and
after carefully blessing it pronounced his prophecy in the fol
lowing words : " Though this boy appears to you now very con
temptible and worthless, let no one on that account despise
him. For from this hour, not only will he not displease you,
but he will give you every satisfaction ; from day to day he
shall advance by degrees in good conduct, and in the virtues of
the soul ; from this day, wisdom and prudence shall be more
and more increased in him, and great shall be his progress in
this your community : his tongue also shall receive from God
the gift of both wholesome doctrine and eloquence." This was
Ernene, son of Crasen, who was afterwards famous and most
highly honoured in all the churches of Scotia (Ireland). He him
self told all these words which were prophesied regarding him
self, as written above, to the abbot Segine, in the attentive hearing
of my predecessor Failbe, who was present at the time with
Segine, and from whose lips I myself have come to know all
that I have stated. But during this short time that the saint
was a guest in the monastery of Clon, there were many other
things also which he prophesied by the revelation of the Holy
Ghost ; as, for instance, about the discord which arose a long
time after among the churches of Scotia (Ireland), on account
of the difference with regard to the Easter Feast ; and about
some visits of angels distinctly made to himself, certain places
within the enclosure of the monastery being at that time thus
resorted to by the angels.
CHAPTER IV.
Of the arrival of St. Cainnech, the Abbot, who had been previously
announced in prophecy ly St. Colutriba.
AT another time, in the louan island (Hy, now lona), on a
day when the tempest was fierce and the sea was exceedingly
boisterous, the saint, as he sat in the house, gave orders to his
brethren, saying, " Prepare the guest-chamber quickly, and draw
water to wash the strangers' feet." One of the brethren upon
this inquired : " Who can cross the Sound safely, narrow though
it be, on so perilous and stormy a day?" The saint, on hearing
this, thus made answer, "The Almighty has given a calm even in
THE LIFE OF SAINT COLUMBA. BOOK I. 11
this tempest to a certain holy and excellent man, who will
arrive here among us before evening." And lo ! the same day,
the ship for which the brethren had some time been looking
out arrived, according to the saint's prediction, and brought St.
Cainnech. The saint went forth with the brethren to meet him
and received him with all honour and hospitality. But the
sailors who had been with St. Cainnech, when they were asked
by the brethren what sort of a voyage they had had, told them,
even as St. Columba had predicted, about both the tempest and
the calm which God had given in the same sea and at the same
time, with an amazing distinction between the two. The tem
pest they saw at a distance, yet they said they did not feel it.
CHAPTEE V.
Of the Danger to the holy Bishop Colman Mocusailni in the Sea,
near the island called Bechru.
ON another day, also, while St. Columba was engaged in his
mother-church, he suddenly cried out, with a smile, "Columbanus,
the son of Beogna, has just now set out on a voyage to us, and
is in great danger in the rolling tides of Brecan's whirlpool : he
is sitting at the prow and raising both his hands to heaven : he
is also blessing that angry and dreadful sea : yet in this the
Lord only frightens him, for the ship in which he is shall not
be wrecked in the storm ; but this is rather to excite him to
pray more fervently, that by God's favour he may escape the
danger of his voyage, and reach us in safety.
CHAPTER VI.
Of Cormac.
ON another occasion also St. Columba prophesied in the
following manner of Cormac, grandson of Lethan, a truly pious
man, who not less than three times went in search of a desert
in the ocean, but did not find it. " In his desire to find a desert,
Cormac is this day, for the second time, now embarking from
that district which lies at the other side of the river Moda (the
Moy, in Sligo), and is called Eirros Domno (Erris, in Mayo) ;
nor even this time shall he find what he seeks, and that for
no other fault than that he has irregularly allowed to accom
pany him in the voyage a monk who is going away from his
own proper abbot without obtaining his consent."
1 2 THE LIFE OF SAINT COLUMBA. BOOK I.
CHAPTEE VII.
Prophecy of the blessed man regarding the Tumults of Battles
,^,, fought at a distance.
ABOUT two years, as we have been told, after the battle of
Cule-Drebene (in Connaught), at which time the blessed man
first set sail and took his departure from Scotia (Ireland), it
happened that on the very day and at the same hour when the
battle, called in Scotic Ondemone (near Coleraine), was fought
in Scotia (Ireland), the same man of God was then living in
Britain with King] Connall, the son of Comgell, and told him
everything, as well about the battle itself, as also about those
kings to whom the Lord granted the victory over their enemies.
These kings were known as Ainmore, son of Setna, and the
two sons of Mac Erca, Domnall and Forcus. And the saint,
in like manner, prophesied of the king of the Cruithne, who
was called Echoid Laib, and how, after being defeated, he
escaped riding in his chariot.
On the Battle of the Miathi.
AT another time, after the lapse of many years from the
above-mentioned battle, and while the holy man was in the y
louan island (Hy, now lona), he suddenly said to his minister,
Diormit, " King the bell." The brethren, startled at the sound,
proceeded quickly to the church, with the holy prelate himself
at their head. There he began, on bended knees, to say to
them, " Let us pray now earnestly to the Lord for this people
and King Aidan, for they are engaging in battle at this moment."
Then after a short time he went out of the oratory, and, look- (
ing up to heaven, said, " The barbarians are fleeing now, and to
Aidan is given the victory — a sad one though it be." And the
blessed man in his prophecy declared the number of the slain
in Aidan's army to be three hundred and three men.
CHAPTER VIII.
Prophecy of St. Columba regarding the Sons of King Aidan.
At another time, before the above-mentioned battle, the saint
asked King Aidan about his successor to the crown. The -king
answered that of his three sons, Artur, Eochoid Eind, and
Domingart, he knew not which would have the kingdom after
him. Then at once the saint prophesied on this wise, " None of
THE LIFE OF SAINT COLUMBA. BOOK I. 13
these three shall be king, for they shall fall in battle, slain by
their enemies ; but now if thou hast any younger sons, let them
come to me, and that one of them whom the Lord has chosen to
be king will at once rush into my lap." When they were called
in, Eochoid Buide, according to the word of the saint, advanced
and rested in his bosom. Immediately the saint kissed him,
and, giving him his blessing, said to his father, " This one shall
survive and reign as king after thee, and his sons shall reign
after him." And so were all these things fully accomplished
afterwards in their time. For Artur and Eochoid Find were
not long after killed in the above-mentioned battle of the
Miathi; Domingart was also defeated and slain in battle in
Saxonia; while Eochoid Buide succeeded his father on the
throne.
Of Domnall, son of Aid.
DOMNALL, son of Aid, while yet a boy, was brought by those
who brought him up to St. Columba on the ridge of Ceatt
(Druim Ceatt in Londonderry), who looked at him and inquired,
"Whose son is this whom you have brought here?" They
answered, "This is Domnall, son of Aid, who is brought to
thee for this purpose, that he may return enriched by thy
blessing." The saint blessed him immediately, and said, " He
shall survive all his brethren, and be a very famous king, nor
shall he be ever delivered into the hands of his enemies ; but
in his old age, in his own house, and with a crowd of his
familiar friends around him, he shall die peacefully in his bed."
All this was truly fulfilled in him, as the blessed man had
foretold.
Of Scandlan, son of Colman.
AT the same time and place, the saint, wishing to visit
Scandlan, son of Colman, went to him where he was kept in
prison by King Aid, and when he had blessed him he comforted
him, saying, " Son, do not distress yourself, but rather rejoice
and take courage, for King Aid, who has you a prisoner, will go
out of this world before you, and after some time of exile you
shall reign in your own nation for thirty years. And again
you shall be driven from your kingdom, and be in exile for
some days ; but after that you shall be called home again by
your people, and shall reign for three short terms." All this
was fully accomplished according to the prediction of the saint.
For in thirty years he had to leave his throne, and continued
in exile for some time ; and then being recalled by his people,
1 4 THE LIFE OF SAINT COLUMBA. BOOK I.
he reigned not three years, as he expected, but three months,
and at the end of that time he died.
A Prophecy of the Messed man regarding two other Kings, icho
were called the two grandsons of Muiredach — Baitan, son of
Maic JErc, and Eochoid, son of Domnall.
AT another time, while travelling through the rough and
rocky country which is called Artdamuirchol (Ardnamurchan),
he heard his companions — Laisran, son of Feradach, and
Diormit, his minister — speaking on the way of the two above-
named kings, and addressed them in these words, " 0 my dear
children, why do you talk thus foolishly of these men ? Both
of these kings of whom you are now conversing are newly
slain, and have had their heads cut off by their enemies. And
this very day some sailors shall come here from Scotia (Ireland),
and tell you the same about these kings." That same day some
sailors arrived from Hibernia, at a place which is called Muir-
bolc Paradisi (Portnamurloch in Lismore), and told the two
above-named companions, who were now sailing in the same
ship with the saint, how these kings had been slain, and thus
the prophecy of the venerable man fulfilled.
Prophecy of the holy man regarding Oingus, son of Aid
Comman.
WHEN he and his two brothers were driven from his country,
he came as an exile to the saint, who was then wandering in
Britain, and who, in blessing him, uttered these prophetic
words from his holy heart, " This youth shall survive when his
other brothers are gone, and he shall reign a long time in his
native country; his enemies shall fall before him, while he
shall never fall into their hands, but in old age he shall die
peacefully in the midst of his friends." All this was fully
accomplished according to the saint's words. This was Oingus,
surnamed Bronbachal.
Prophecy of the blessed man regarding the son of King Dermit,
who in the Scotic language is called Aid Slane.
ON another occasion, when the blessed man was sojourning for
some days in Scotia (Ireland), he spoke in the following prophetic
strain to the above-mentioned Aid, who had come to visit him :
— " Thou must take care, my son, lest, for the sin of murdering
thy* kinsman, thou lose the right of governing the whole of
THE LIFE OF SAINT COLUMBA. BOOK I. 15
Hibernia, as was first assigned tliee by God ; for if at any time
thou dost commit that sin, thou shalt not hold the whole of
thy father's kingdom, but only a part of it in thine own tribe,
and that but for a short time." These words of the saint were
on this wise fulfilled according to the prediction, that after Aid
had treacherously killed Suibne, son of Columban, he reigned,
it is said, no longer than four years and three months, and that
only as colleague in the kingdom.
Prophecy of the blessed man regarding King Roderc, son of Tothal,
who reigned on the Rock of Cluaith (Alcluith or Dumbarton).
THIS same king being on friendly terms with the holy man,
sent to him on one occasion a secret message by Lugbe Mocu-
min, as he was anxious to know whether he would be killed
by his enemies or not. But when Lugbe was being closely
inquired at by the saint regarding the king, his kingdom, and
people, he answered in a tone of pity, " Why do you ask about
that wretched man, who is quite unable to tell at what hour he
may be killed by his enemies ? " Then the saint replied, " He
shall never be delivered into the hands of his enemies ; he will
die at home on his own pillow." And the prophecy of the
saint regarding King Eoderc was fully accomplished ; for, ac
cording to his word, he died quietly in his own house.
CHAPTEE IX.
Prophecy of the Saint regarding two "boys, one of whom, according
to the Saint's word, died at the end of a week.
ON another occasion, two men of low rank in life came to
the saint, who was then in the louan island (Hy, now lona).
One of them, named Meldan, brought his son to the saint and
asked him what kind of future he would enjoy. To whom the
saint replied, " Is not this the Sabbath day? Thy son will die
on the sixth day at the end of next week, and will be buried
here on the eighth day, that is the Sabbath." Then the other
man, named Glasderc, also took his son along with him, and
venturing to make a similar inquiry, received the following
answer from the saint, "Thy son Ernan will see his grand
children, and be buried in old age in this island." All this
was fully accomplished in its own time, regarding the two
boys, according to the words of the saint,
1 6 THE LIFE OF SAINT COLUMBA. BOOK 1.
CHAPTER X.
Prophecy of the Saint regarding Colca, son of Aid Draignich,
sprung from the grandsons of Fechureg, and regarding some
secret sin of his mother.
THIS Colca residing one time in the louan island (Hy, now
lona) with the saint, was asked by him concerning his mother
whether she was a pious woman or not. Colca answered him,
" I have always known my mother to be good, and to bear that
character." The saint then spoke these prophetic words : " Set
out now at once for Scotia (Ireland), with God's help, and
question thy mother closely regarding her very grievous secret
sin, which she will not confess to any man." To carry out
the advice thus given him he departed to Hibernia : and when
he interrogated his mother closely, she at first denied, and then
she at last confessed her sin. When she had done penance
according to the judgment of the saint, she was absolved, won
dering very much all the while at what was made known to
the saint regarding her.
CHAPTER XL
COLCA, however, returned to the saint, and remained with
him for some days, and then asking about the end of his own
days, received this answer from the saint: — "In thine own
beloved country thou shalt be head of a church for many years,
and when at any time thou happenest to see thy butler making
merry with a company of his friends at supper, and twirling
the ladle round in the strainer, know that then in a short
time thou shalt die." What more need I say ? This same
prophecy of the blessed man was exactly fulfilled, as it was
foretold to Colca.
CHAPTER XII.
Regarding Laisrean, the gardener, a holy man.
ON a certain day, the holy man ordered one of his monks
named Trena, of the tribe Mocuruntir, to go a message for him
to Scotia (Ireland). While he was preparing the ship in haste to
obey the orders of the man of God, he complained before the
saint that one of the sailors was wanting. The saint immedi
ately answered him, and uttered these words from his sacred
THE LIFE OF SAINT COLUMBA. BOOK I. 17
breast, " The sailor who is, thou sayest, absent, I cannot just
now find. But go in peace ; thou shalt have a favourable and
steady breeze till thou reach Hibernia. Thou shalt see a man
coming to meet thee from a distance, and he will be the first to
seize the prow of thy ship in Scotia (Ireland) ; he shall be with
thee during the time of thy sojourn in Hibernia, and accompany
thee on thy return to us, as a man chosen by God, who in this
very monastery of mine will live piously the remainder of his
days." What more can I add ? Trena received the saint's
blessing, and crossed over at full sail during the whole voyage,
and lo ! as his little ship was nearing the port, Laisran Mocu-
moie ran forward before the others and caught the prow. The
sailors knew that this was the very man of whom the saint had
spoken beforehand.
CHAPTER XIII.
How the Saint 'knew and told beforehand about a great Whale.
ONE day when the venerable man was staying in the Ion an
island (Hy, now lona), a certain brother named Berach intended
to sail to the Ethican island (Tiree), and going to the saint in the
morning asked his blessing. The saint looking at him, said,
" 0 my son, take very great care this day not to attempt sailing-
direct over the open sea to the Ethican land (Tiree) ; but rather
take a circuit, and sail round by the smaller islands, for this
reason, that thou be not thrown into great terror by a huge
monster, and hardly be able to escape." On receiving the
saint's blessing he departed, and when he reached his ship, he
set sail without giving heed to the saint's words. But as he
was crossing over the larger arms of the Ethican sea, he and
the sailors who were with him looked out, and lo, a whale, of
huge and amazing size, raised itself like a mountain, and as it
floated on the surface, it opened its mouth, which, as it gaped,
was bristling with teeth. Then the rowers, hauling in their
sail, pulled back in the utmost terror, and had a very narrow
escape from the agitation of the waves caused by the motion of
the monster ; and they were also struck with wonder as they
remembered the prophetic words of the saint. On the morning
of that same day, as Baithene was going to sail to the forenamed
island, the saint told him about this whale, saying, " Last night,
at midnight, a great whale rose from the depth of the sea, and it
will float this day on the surface of the ocean between the louan
and Ethican islands (lona and Tiree)." Baithene answered and
said, " That beast and I are under the power of God." " Go in
B
1 8 THE LIFE OF SAINT COLUMBA. BOOK I.
peace," said the saint ; " thy faith in Christ shall defend thee
from this danger." Baithene accordingly, having received the
saint's blessing, sailed from the harbour; and after they had
sailed a considerable distance, he and his companions saw the
whale ; and while all the others were much terrified, he alone
was without fear, and raising up both his hands, blessed the
sea and the whale. At the same moment the enormous brute
plunged down under the waves, and never afterwards appeared
to them.
CHAPTEE XIV.
Prophecy of the holy man regarding a certain Baitan, who with
others sailed in search of a desert in the ocean.
At another time, a certain man named Baitan, by race a
descendant of Niath Taloirc, when setting out with others to
seek a desert in the sea, asked the saint's blessing. The saint
bidding him adieu uttered this prophecy regarding him : " This
man who is going in search of a desert in the ocean shall not be
buried in the desert, but in that place where a woman shall drive
sheep over his grave." The same Baitan, after long wanderings
on stormy seas, returned to his native country without finding
the desert, and remained for many years the head of a small
monastic house, which is called in the Scotic tongue Lathregin-
den (not identified). When after a while he died and was
buried, in the Oakgrove of Galgach (Deny), it happened at the
same time that on account of some hostile inroad the poor people
with their wives and children fled for sanctuary to the church
of that place. Whence it occurred that on a certain day a woman
was caught, as she was driving her lambs over the grave of
this same man who was newly buried. Then a holy priest who
was present and saw this, said, " Now is fulfilled the prophecy
which St. Columba uttered many years ago." And this I myself
was told regarding Baitan, by that same priest and soldier of
Christ, Mailodran by name, of the tribe of Mocurin.
CHAPTER XV.
Prophecy of the holy man regarding a certain Neman, who was
not a real penitent.
AT another time, the saint came to the Hinbina island
(Eilean-na-naoimh, one of the Garveloch islands), and that
same day he gave orders that even the penitents should
enjoy some indulgence in respect of their food. Now there
THE LIFE OF SAINT COLUMBA. BOOK I. 19
was among the penitents in that place a certain Neman, son
of Cathair, who, though ordered by the saint, declined to accept
the offer of this little indulgence. Him then the saint addressed
in these words : " 0 Neman, art thou not accepting some
indulgence in food as it is kindly granted by me and Baitan ?
The time shall come when thou wilt be stealthily eating mare's
flesh, as thou liest concealed in the woods with robbers." And
accordingly that same man afterwards returned to the world,
and was found in a forest with robbers taking and eating off a
wooden griddle such flesh as the saint had foretold.
CHAPTER XVI.
Regarding a certain unhappy man who lay with his Mother.
AT another time, the saint called out the brethren at the
dead of night, and when they were assembled in the church
said to them : " Now let us pray fervently to the Lord, for at
this hour a sin unheard of in the world has been committed,
for^ which rigorous vengeance that is justly due is very much
to be feared." Next day he spoke of this sin to a few who
were asking him about it. "After a few months," he said,
" that unhappy wretch will come here to the louan island (Hy,
now lona) with Lugaid, who is unaware of the sin." Accord
ingly after the few months had passed away, the saint one day
spoke to Diormit, and ordered him, " Rise quickly ; lo ! Lugaid
is coming. Tell him to send off the wretch whom he has with
him in the ship to the Malean island (Mull), that he may not
tread the sod of this island." He went to the sea in obedience
to the saint's injunction, and told Lugaid as he was approaching
all the words of the saint regarding the unhappy man. On hear
ing the directions, that unhappy man vowed that he would never
eat food with others until he had seen St. Columba and spoken
to him. Diormit therefore returned to the saint, and told him
the words of the poor wretch. The saint, on hearing them, went
down to the haven, and as Baitan was citing the authority of
Holy Scriptures, and suggesting that the repentance of the un
happy man should be received, the saint immediately replied to
him, "O Baitan! this man has committed fratricide like Cain, and
become an adulterer with his mother." Then the poor wretch,
casting himself upon his knees on the beach, promised that he
would comply with all the rules of penance, according to the
judgment of the saint. The saint said to him, "If thou do
penance in tears and lamentations for twelve years among the
Britons, and never to the day of thy death return to Scotia (Ire-
20 THE LIFE OF SAINT COLUMBA. BOOK I.
land), perhaps God may pardon thy sin." Having said these
words, the saint turned to his own friends and said, " This man is
a son of perdition, who will not perform the penance he has pro
mised, but will soon return to Scotia (Ireland), and there in a
short time be killed by his enemies." All this happened exactly
according to the saint?s prophecy ; for the wretched man, re
turning to Hibernia about the same time, fell into the hands of
his enemies in the region called Lea (Firli, in Ulster), and was
murdered. He was of the descendants of Turtre.
CHAPTEK XVII.
Of the Vowel I.
ONE day Baithene came to the saint and said, " I want some
one of the brethren to look over with me and correct the
psalter which I have written." Hearing this, the saint said,
" Why give us this trouble without any cause ? In that psalter
of thine, of which thou speakest, there is not one superfluous
letter to be found, nor is any wanting except the one vowel I."
And accordingly, when the whole psalter was read over, what
the saint had said was found to be true.
CHAPTEE XVIII.
Of the Book which fell into the Water-vessel, as the Saint had
foretold.
IN the same way, on another day, as he was sitting by the
hearth in the monastery, he saw at some distance Lugbe, of
the tribe Mocumin, reading a book, and suddenly said to him,
" Take care, my son, take care, for I think that the book thou
readest is about to fall into a vessel full of water." And so
it soon happened, for when the same youth rose soon after to
perform some duty in the monastery, he forgot the word of the
blessed man, and the book which he held negligently under his
arm suddenly fell into the water-pot, which was full of water.
CHAPTEK XIX.
Of the Inkhorn, awkwardly spilled.
ON another day a shout was given on the other side of the
Sound of the louan island (Sound of lona) ; the saint hearing
the shout, as he was sitting in his little hut, which was made
of planks, said, " The man who is shouting beyond the Sound
THE LIFE OF SAINT COLUMBA. BOOK I. 21
is not of very sharp wit, for when he is here to-day he will
upset my inkhorn and spill the ink. Diormit, his minister,
hearing this, stood a little in front of the door, and waited for
the arrival of this troublesome guest, in order to save the ink-
horn. But for some cause or other he had soon to leave his
place, and after his departure the unwelcome guest arrived;
in his eager haste to kiss the saint, he upset the inkhorn with
the hem of his garment and spilled the ink.
CHAPTEE XX.
Of the arrival of another Guest foretold ~by the Saint.
So again at another time the saint spoke thus to his brethren
on the third day of the week, " We intend to fast to-morrow,
being Wednesday : and yet by the arrival of a certain trouble
some guest the usual fast will be broken." And so it happened
as had been shown to the saint beforehand ; for on the morn
ing of that same Wednesday, another stranger was heard signal
ling across the Sound. This was Aidan, the son of Fergno, who,
it is said, was minister for twelve years to Brendan Mocualti.
He was a very religious man, and his arrival, as the saint had
foretold, broke the fast of that day.
CHAPTEE XXL
Of another man in distress who was crying across the same Sound.
ON another day the saint heard some person shouting across
the Sound, and spoke on this wise, "That man who is shouting is
much to be pitied, for he is coming here to us to ask some cure
for the disease of his body; but it were better for him this day to
do true penance for his sins, for at the close of this week he shall
die." These words those who were present told to the unhappy
man when he arrived. But he gave no heed to them when he
had received what he asked, and quickly departed, yet before
the end of the same week he died, according to the prediction
of the saint.
CHAPTEE XXII.
The Prophecy of the holy man regarding the Roman city, burnt
l>y a sulphurous fire which fell from heaven.
ANOTHER time also, Lugbe, of the tribe Mocumin, of whom
I spoke already, came to the saint one day after the grinding of
22 THE LIFE OF SAINT COLUMBA. BOOK I.
the com, but the saint's countenance shone with such wonderful
brilliancy that he could not look upon it, and quickly fled in
great terror. The saint gently clapped his hands and called
him back ; then on his return the saint asked him why he fled
so quickly. " I fled," he replied, " because I was very much
alarmed." Then becoming more confident, after a while, he
ventured to ask the saint, " Hath any awful vision been shown
to thee just now ? " The saint answered, " A very fearful ven
geance hath just now been exacted in a distant corner of the
world." " What vengeance ?" says the youth, " and where hath
it taken place ? " The saint then addressed him thus : " A sul
phurous fire hath been poured down from heaven this moment on
a city which is subject to Borne, and within the Italian territory,
and about three thousand men, besides women and children,
have perished. Before the end of this year Gallican sailors shall
come here from the provinces of Gaul, and tell thee these same
things." His words proved true in a few months ; for the same
Lugbe, happening to accompany the saint to the Head of the
land (Kintyre), inquired at the captain and crew of a bark
that had just arrived, and received from them all the news
regarding the city and its inhabitants, exactly as it was fore
told by the illustrious man.
CHAPTER XXIII.
The Vision of the Uessed man regarding Laisran, son of Feradach.
ONE very cold day in winter the saint was much afflicted, and
wept bitterly. His attendant, Diormit, asked the cause of his
sadness, and received this answer from him, " With just reason
am I sad to-day, my little child, seeing that my monks, now
wearied after their severe labours, are engaged by Laisraii in
building a large house ; with this I am very much displeased."
Strange to say, at that very moment, Laisran, who was living
at the time in the monastery of the Oakwood Plain (Deny), felt
somehow impelled, and as it were consumed by a fire within him,
so that he commanded the monks to stop from working, and some
refreshments to be made ready for them. He also gave direc
tions that they were to rest not only that day, but also on other
occasions of severe weather. The saint, hearing in spirit these
words of consolation addressed by Laisran to his brethren, ceased
weeping, and though he himself was living in the louan island
(Hy, now lona), he rejoiced with exceeding great joy, and told
all the circumstances to his brethren, while at the same time
he blessed Laisran for his timely relief to the monks.
THE LIFE OF SAINT COLUMBA. BOOK I. 23
CHAPTEE XXIV.
How Feachna the Wise came as a Penitent to St. Columba, as he
had foretold.
ANOTHER time the saint was sitting on the top of the moun
tain which overhangs this our monastery, at some distance from
it, and turning to his attendant Diormit, said to him, " I am sur
prised that a certain ship from Scotia (Ireland) does not appear
sooner : there is on board a certain wise man who has fallen into a
great crime, but who, with tears of repentance, shall soon arrive."
Not long after the attendant, looking to the south, saw the sail
of a ship that was approaching the harbour. When its arrival
was pointed out to the saint he got up quickly and said, " Let
us go to meet this stranger, whose sincere penance is accepted
by Christ." As soon as Feachna came on shore, he ran to meet
the saint, who was coming down to the shore, and falling on his
knees before him lamented most bitterly with wailing and tears,
and there in the presence of all made open confession of his sins.
Then the saint, also shedding tears, said to him, " Arise, my son,
and be comforted ; the sins thou hast committed are forgiven
thee, because, as it is written, ' a humble and contrite heart God
doth not despise.' " He then arose, and the saint received him
with great joy. After a few days he was sent to Baithene, who
at that time was the superior of the monastery in the plain
of Lunge (Maigh Lunge, in Tiree), and he journeyed thither in
peace.
CHAPTER XXV.
The Prophecy of the holy man regarding his monk Cailtan.
AT another time he sent two of his monks to another of them
named Cailtan, who was then superior in the cell which is called
to this day after his brother Diuni, and is situated near the lake of
the river Aba (Lochawe). The saint gave them the following
instructions, " Run quickly to Cailtan, and tell him to come to
me without delay." In obedience to the saint's command they
went to the cell of Diuni, and told Cailtan the object of their
mission. At once, and without the least delay, he set out along
with the messengers of the saint, and soon reached his abode in
the louan island (Hy, now lona). On making his appearance
he was addressed by the saint, " 0 Cailtan, thou hast done well
by coming hither quickly in obedience to my summons ; rest
24 THE LIFE OF SAINT COLUMBA. BOOK I.
now for a while. I sent for you to come to me for this reason,
that, loving thee as a friend, I would wish thee to end thy days
with me here in true obedience. For before the close of this
week thou shalt depart in peace to the Lord." When he heard
these words he gave thanks to God, embraced the saint with
tears, and receiving his blessing, retired to the guest-chamber.
He fell sick that same night, and passed away to Christ the
Lord during that very week, as the saint had said.
CHAPTER XXVI.
The Foresight and Prophecy of the Saint regarding the two
brothers who were Strangers.
ONE Lord's day a loud cry was heard beyond the above-
mentioned Sound of which I speak so often. As soon as the
saint heard it, he said to the brethren who were then with him,
" Go directly and bring here before us at once the strangers that
have now arrived from a distant land." They went accordingly
and ferried the strangers across. The saint, after embracing
them, asked them at once the object of their journey. In reply
they said, "We are come to reside with thee for this year."
The saint replied, " With me, as you say, you cannot reside for
a year, unless you take first the monastic vow." When those
who were present heard these words addressed to strangers who
were only newly arrived they wondered very much. But the
elder brother, in answer to the saint's remarks, replied,
"Although we never up to the present hour entertained the
thought before, yet we shall follow thy advice, believing that it
cometh from God." What more need I say ? That very moment
they entered the chapel with the saint, and on bended knees
devoutly took the monastic vow. The saint then turned to his
monks and said, " These two strangers who are presenting them
selves ' a living sacrifice to God/ and within a short time are
fulfilling a long time of Christian warfare, shall pass away in
peace this very month to Christ our Lord." The two brothers,
on hearing this, gave thanks to God, and were led away to the
guest-room. After seven days the elder brother fell sick, and
departed to the Lord in the course of that week. After other
seven days the other brother also fell sick, and within the same
week passed to the Lord with joy, so that, according to the
truthful prophecy of the saint, both closed their lives in this
world within the space of one month.
THE LIFE OF SAINT COLUMBA. BOOK I. 25
CHAPTEE XXVII.
The Prophecy of the holy man regarding a certain Artlranan.
WHEN the blessed man was staying for some days in the Scian
island (Sky), he struck a spot of ground near the sea with his
staff, and said to his companions : " Strange to say, my children,
this day, an aged heathen, whose natural goodness has been
preserved through all his life, will receive baptism, die, and be
buried on this very spot." And lo ! about an hour after, a boat
came into the harbour, on whose prow sat a decrepit old man,
the chief of the Geona cohort. Two young men took him
out of the boat and laid him at the feet of the blessed man.
After being instructed in the word of God by the saint through
an interpreter, the old man believed, and was baptized at once
by him, and when the baptism was duly administered, he in
stantly died on the same spot, according to the saint's predic
tion, and was buried there by his companions, who raised a
heap of stones over his grave. This cairn may be seen still on
the sea-coast, and the river in which he was baptized is called
to this day by the inhabitants, Dobur Artbranan.
CHAPTEK XXVIII.
Of the Boat that was removed ly the Saint's order.
ANOTHER time, as the saint was travelling beyond the Dorsal
ridge of Britain (Drumalban), he came to a small village, lying
amid deserted fields, on the banks of a river, where it flows into
a lake. There the saint took up his abode, and that same night,
while they were yet but falling asleep, he awoke his companions,
and said to them : " Go out this instant with all speed, bring
hither quickly the boat you left on the other side of the stream,
and put it in a house near us." They did at once as they were
ordered, and soon after they were again asleep, the saint roused
Diormit, and said to him : " Stand outside the door, and see
what has happened to the village in which you had left your
boat." Diormit went out accordingly and saw the whole village
on fire, and returning to the saint he told him what was taking
place. Then the saint told the brethren the name of the ran
corous foe who had burnt the houses that night.
26 THE LIFE OF SAINT COLUMBA. BOOK I.
CHAPTEE XXIX.
0 Gfallan, son of Fachtna, who resided in the jurisdiction of
Colga, son of CellacJi.
ONE day again, as the saint was sitting in his little hut, he
said, in prophecy to the same Colca, then reading by his side,
" Just now demons are dragging with them down to hell one of
the chiefs of thy district who is a niggardly person." When
Colca heard this, he marked the time accurately in a tablet,
and, coming home within a few months, learned on inquiry
from the inhabitants of the place, that Gallan, son of Fachtna,
died at the very moment that the saint said to him the man
was being carried off by demons.
The Prophecy of the blessed man regarding Findchan, a Priest,
and the founder of the monastery called in Scotic Artchain,
in the Ethican land (Tiree).
AT another time Findchan, the priest and soldier of Christ,
named above, brought with him from Scotia (Ireland) to Britain,
Aid, surnamed the Black, descended of a royal family, and a Cru-
thinian by race. Aid wore the clerical habit, and came with the
purpose of residing with him in the monastery for some years.
Now this Aid the Black had been a very bloodthirsty man, and
cruelly murdered many persons, amongst others Diormit, son of
Cerbul, by divine appointment king of all. This same Aid,
then, after spending some time in his retirement, was irregularly
ordained priest by a bishop invited for the purpose, in the pre
sence of the above-named Findchan. The bishop, however,
would not venture to lay a hand upon his head unless Findchan,
who was greatly attached to Aid, in a carnal way, should first
place his right hand on his head as a mark of approval. When
such an ordination afterwards became known to the saint, he
was deeply grieved, and in consequence forthwith pronounced
this fearful sentence on the ill-fated Findchan and Aid : " That
right hand which, against the laws of God and the Church,
Findchan placed on the head of the son of perdition, shall soon
be covered with sores, and after great and excruciating pain
shall precede himself to the grave, and he shall survive the
burial of his hand for many years. And Aid, thus irregularly
ordained, shall return as a dog to his vomit, and be again a
bloody murderer, until at length, pierced in the neck with a
spear, he shall fall from a tree into the water and be drowned."
THE LIFE OF SAINT COLUMBA. BOOK I. 27
Such indeed was the end long due to him who murdered the king
of all Scotia (Ireland). The blessed man's prophecy was fulfilled
regarding both, for the priest Findchan's right hand festered
from the effects of a blow, and went before him into the ground,
being buried in an island called Ommon (not identified), while
he himself survived for many years, according to the saying of
St. Coluniba. But Aid the Black, a priest only in name, be
taking himself again to his former evil doings, and being treach
erously wounded with a spear, fell from the prow of a boat into
a lake and was drowned.
Of the Consolation which the Monks, when they were vieary on
their journey, received from the Saint visiting them in spirit.
AMONG these wonderful manifestations of prophetical spirit
it does not seem alien from the purpose of our short treatise to
mention also here the spiritual comfort which the monks of
St. Columba at one time received from his spirit's meeting them
by the way. For as the brethren, on one occasion after the
harvest work, were returning in the evening to the monastery,
and came to a place called in Scotic Cuuleilne, which is
said to lie on the western side of the louan island (Hy, now
lona), midway between the field on the plain and our monastery,
each of them thought he felt something strange and unusual,
which, however, they did not venture to speak of to one another.
And so they had the same feeling for some days successively,
at the same place, and at the same hour in the evening.
The holy Baithen at that particular time had charge of the
work, and one day he said to them : " Now, my brethren, if any
of you ever notices anything wonderful and unusual in this
spot which lies between the corn-field and the monastery, it is
your duty to declare it openly." An elder brother said, " As
you have ordered me, I shall tell you what I observed on this
spot. For both in the past few days, and even now, I perceive
the fragrance of such a wonderful odour, just as if all the
flowers on earth were gathered together into one place ; I feel
also a glow of heat within me, not at all painful, but most
pleasing, and a certain unusual and inexpressible joy poured into
my heart, which on a sudden so refreshes and gladdens me, that
I forget grief and weariness of every kind. Even the load, how
ever heavy, which I carry on my back, is in some mysterious
way so much lightened, from this place all the way to the
monastery, that I do not seem to have any weight to bear."
What need I add ? All the other reapers in turn declared they had
exactly the same feeling as the first had described. All then knelt
28 THE LIFE OF SAINT COLUMBA. BOOK I.
down together, and requested of the holy Baithen that he would
learn and inform them of the as yet unknown cause and origin
of this wonderful relief, which both he and they were feeling.
" Ye all know," he immediately replied, "our father Columba's
tender care regarding us, and how, ever mindful of our toil, he
is always grieved when we return later than usual to the
monastery. And now because he cannot come in person on
this occasion to meet us, his spirit cometh forth to us as we
walk along, and conveyeth to us such great comfort." Having
heard these words, they raised their hands to heaven with
intense joy as they knelt, and venerated Christ in the holy and
blessed man.
I must not pass over another well-authenticated story, told,
indeed, by those who heard it, regarding the voice of the
blessed man in singing the psalms. The venerable man, when
singing in the church with the brethren, raised his voice so
wonderfully that it was sometimes heard four furlongs off, that
is five hundred paces, and sometimes eight furlongs, that is one
thousand paces. But what is stranger still : to those who were
with him in the church, his voice did not seem louder than that
of others ; and yet at the same time persons more than a mile
away heard it so distinctly that they could mark each syllable
of the verses he was singing, for his voice sounded the same
whether far or near. It is however admitted,' that this wonder
ful character in the voice of the blessed man was but rarely
observable, and even then it could never happen without the
aid of the Holy Ghost.
But another story concerning the great and wonderful power
of his voice should not be omitted. The fact is said to have taken
place near the fortress of King Brude (near Inverness) . When the
saint himself was chanting the evening hymns with a few of the
brethren, as usual, outside the king's fortifications, some Druids,
coming near to them, did all they could to prevent God's
praises being sung in the midst of a pagan nation. On seeing
this, the saint began to sing the 44th Psalm, and at the same
moment so wonderfully loud, like pealing thunder, did his voice
become, that king and people were struck with terror and
amazement.
CHAPTEK XXX.
Concerning a rich man named Lugud Clodus.
AT another time, when the saint was staying some days in
Scotia (Ireland), he saw a cleric mounted on a chariot, and driving
THE LIFE OF SAINT COLUMBA. BOOK I. 29
pleasantly along the plain of Breg (MaghBregh, in Meath).
On asking who the person was, the cleric's friend made this
reply regarding him : " This is Lugud Clodus, who is rich, and
much respected by the people." The saint immediately
answered, " He does not seem so to me, but a poor wretched
creature, who on the day of his death shall have within his
own walled enclosure three of his neighbour's cattle which
have strayed on to his property. The best of the strayed cows
he shall order to be killed for his own use, and a part of the
meat he shall direct to be cooked and served up to him at
the very time that he is lying on the same couch with a prosti
tute, but by the first morsel that he eats shall he be choked and
die immediately." Now all these things, as we heard from
well-informed persons, afterwards happened according to the
saint's prophecy.
CHAPTER XXXI.
Prophecy of the Saint regarding Neman, son of Ghruthrich.
FOR when the saint corrected this man for his faults, he re
ceived the saint's reproof with derision. The blessed man then
said to him, " In God's name I will declare these words of truth
concerning thee, Neman, that thine enemies shall find thee in
bed with a prostitute and put thee to death, and the evil spirits
shall carry off thy soul to the place of torments." A few years
after his enemies found this same Neman on a couch along
with a prostitute, in the district of Cainle (not identified), and
beheaded him, as was foretold by the saint.
CHAPTER XXXII.
Prophecy of the holy man regarding a certain Priest.
AT another time, as the saint was staying in that part of
Scotia (Ireland), named a little before, he came by chance on
the Lord's day to a neighbouring little monastery, called in
the Scotic language Trioit (Trevet, in Meath). The same day
a priest celebrated the holy mysteries of the Eucharist, who
was selected by the brethren who lived there to perform the
solemn offices of the Mass, because they thought him very
pious. The saint, on hearing him, suddenly opened his mouth
and uttered this fearful sentence : " The clean and unclean
are now equally mingled together ; that is, the clean mysteries
of the holy sacrifice are offered by an unclean person, who
30 THE LIFE OF SAINT COLUMBA. BOOK I.
just now conceals within his own conscience a grievous crime."
The bystanders, hearing these words, were struck with terror ;
but he of whom they were said was forced to confess his sin
before them all. And the fellow-soldiers of Christ, who stood
round the saint in the church, and had heard him making mani
fest the secrets of the heart, greatly wondered, and glorified the
heavenly knowledge that was seen in him.
CHAPTER XXXIII.
The Prophecy of the holy man regarding the roller Ere Mocu-
druidi, who dwelt in the island Coloso (Colonsay).
AT another time, when the saint was in the louan island (Hy,
now lona), he called two of the brothers, Lugbe and Silnan, and
gave them this charge, " Sail over now to the Malean island
(Mull), and on the open ground, near the sea-shore, look for Ere,
a robber, who came alone last night in secret from the island
Coloso (Colonsay). He strives to hide himself among the sand
hills during the daytime under his boat, which he covers with
hay, that he may sail across at night to the little island where
our young seals are brought forth and nurtured. When this
furious robber has stealthily killed as many as he can, he then
fills his boat, and goes back to his hiding-place." They pro
ceeded at once in compliance with their orders, and found the
robber lying hid in the very spot that was indicated, and they
brought him to the saint, as they had been told. The saint
looked at him, and said, " Why dost thou transgress the com
mandment of God so often by stealing the property of others ?
If thou art in want at any time, come to us and thy needs shall
be supplied." At the same time he ordered some wethers to
be killed, and given to the wretched thief in place of the seals,
that he might not return empty. A short time after the saint
saw in spirit that the death of the robber was at hand, and
ordered Baithen, then steward in the plain of Lunge (Maigh
Lunge, in Tiree), to send a fat sheep and six pecks of corn as a
last gift. Baithen sent them at once as the saint had recom
mended, but he found that the wretched robber had died sud
denly the same day, and the presents sent over were used at
his burial.
CHAPTER XXXIV.
Prophecy of the holy man regarding the poet Cronan.
AT another time, as the saint was sitting one day with the
brothers beside the lake Ce (Lough Key, in Roscommon), at the
THE LIFE OF SAINT COLUMBA. BOOK I. 31
inouth of the river called in Latin Bos (the Boyle), a certain
Scotic poet came to them, and when he retired, after a short
interview, the brothers said to the saint, " Why didst thou not
ask the poet Cronan, before he went away, to sing us a song
with accompaniment, according to the rules of his profession ? "
The saint replied, "Why do even you now utter such idle
words? How could I ask that poor man to sing a song of
joy, who has now been murdered, and thus hastily has ended
his days, at the hands of his enemies ? " The saint had no
sooner said these words than immediately a man cried out
from beyond the river, " That poet who left you in safety a few
minutes ago has just now been met and put to death by his
enemies." Then all that were present wondered very much,
and looked at one another in amazement.
CHAPTER XXXV.
The holy man's Prophecy regarding the two Noblemen who died
of wounds mutually inflicted.
AGAIN, at another time, as the saint was living in the louan
island (Hy> now lona), on a sudden, while he was reading, and
to the great surprise of all, he moaned very heavily. Lugbe
Mocublai, who was beside him, on seeing this, asked the cause of
such sudden grief. The saint, in very great affliction, answered
him, " Two men of royal blood in Scotia (Ireland) have perished
of wounds mutually inflicted near the monastery called Cellrois,
in the province of the Maugdorna (Magheross, in Monaghan) ;
and on the eighth day from the end of this week, one shall
give the shout on the other side of the Sound, who has come
from Hibernia, and will tell you all as it happened. But
oh ! my dear child, tell this to nobody so long as I live." On
the eighth day, accordingly, the voice was heard beyond the
firth. Then the saint called quietly to Lugbe, and said to
him, "This is the aged traveller to whom I alluded, who
now crieth aloud beyond the strait ; go and bring him here to
me." The stranger was speedily brought, and told, among
other things, how two noblemen in the district of the Maug
dorna, near the confines of the territory in which is situate
the monastery of Cellrois, died of wounds received in single
combat — namely, Colman the Hound, son of Ailen, and Eonan,
son of Aid, son of Colga, both descended of the kings of
the Anteriores (the Airtheara, or people of Oriel in Ulster).
After these things were thus narrated, Lugbe, the soldier of
Christ, began to question the saint in private. " Tell me, I
32 THE LIFE OF SAINT COLUMBA. BOOK I.
entreat of thee, about these and such like prophetic revelations,
how they are made to thee, whether by sight or hearing, or
other means unknown to man." To this the saint replied,
" Thy question regardeth a most difficult subject, on which I can
give thee no information whatever, unless thou first strictly
promise, on thy bended knees, by the name of the Most High
God, never to communicate this most secret mystery to any
person all the days of my life." Hearing this, Lugbe fell at
once on his knees, and, with face bent down to the ground,
promised everything faithfully as the saint demanded. After
this pledge had been promptly given he arose, and the saint
said to him, " There are some, though very few, who are enabled
by divine grace to see most clearly and distinctly the whole
compass of the world, and to embrace within their own won-
drously enlarged mental capacity the utmost limits of the
heavens and the earth at the same moment, as if all were
illumined by a single ray of the sun." In speaking of this
miracle, the saint, though he seems to be referring to the expe
rience of other favoured persons, yet was in reality alluding to
his own, though indirectly, that he might avoid the appearance
of vain-glory ; and no one can doubt this who reads the apostle
Paul, that vessel of election, when he relates the visions revealed
to himself. For he did not write, " I know that I," but " I know
a man caught up even to the third heavens." Now, although
the words seem strictly to refer to another person, yet all admit
that he spoke thus of none but himself in his great humility.
This was the model followed by our Columba in relating those
visions of the Spirit spoken of above, and that, too, in such a
way that even Lugbe, for whom the saint showed a special
affection, could hardly force him to tell these wonders after
much entreaty. And to this fact Lugbe himself, after St.
Columba's death, bore witness in the presence of other holy
men, from whom I learned the undoubted truths which I have
now related of the saint.
Of Cronan the Bishop.
AT another time, a stranger from the province of the Munster-
men, who in his humility did all he could to disguise himself,
so that nobody might know he was a bishop, came to the saint ;
but his rank could not be hidden from the saint. For next
Lord's day, being invited by the saint, as the custom was, to
consecrate the Body of Christ, he asked the saint to join him,
that, as two priests, they might break the bread of the Lord
together. The saint went to the altar accordingly, and suddenly
THE LIFE OF SAINT COLUMBA. BOOK I. 33
looking into the stranger's face, thus addressed him : " Christ
bless thee, brother ; do thou break the bread alone, according
to the episcopal rite, for I know now that thou art a bishop.
Why hast thou disguised thyself so long, and prevented our
giving thee the honour we owe to thee ? " On hearing the
saint's words, the humble stranger was greatly astonished, and
adored Christ in His saint, and the bystanders in amazement
gave glory to God.
The Saint's prophecy regarding Ernan the Priest.
AT another time, the venerable man sent Ernan, his uncle,
an aged priest, to preside over the monastery he had founded
many years before in Hinba island (Eilean-na-Naoimh). On
his departure the saint embraced him affectionately, blessed
him, and then foretold what would by and by happen to him,
saying, " This friend of mine, who is now going away from me, I
never expect to see alive again in this world." After a few days
this same Ernan became very unwell, and desired to be taken
back to the saint, who was much rejoiced at his return, and set
out for the harbour to meet him. Ernan also himself, though
with feeble step, attempted very boldly, and without assistance,
to walk from the harbour to meet him ; but when there was only
the short distance of twenty-four paces between them, death
came suddenly upon him before the saint could see his face in
life, and he breathed his last as he fell to the ground, that the
word of the saint might be fulfilled. Hence on that spot,
before the door of the kiln, a cross was raised, and another
(cross was in like manner put up where the saint resided at the
time of his death, which remaineth unto this day.
The Saint's prophecy regarding the Family of a certain Peasant.
AT another time, when the saint was staying in that district
which is called in the Scotic tongue Coire Salchain (Corrie Sal-
lachan, now Corry, in Morvern), the peasants came to him, and
one evening when he saw one of them approaching he said to
him, " Where dost thou live ? " "I live," said he, " in that dis
trict which borders the shore of Lake Crogreth (Loch Creran).'
" That district of which thou speakest," replied the saint, " is
now being pillaged by savage marauders." On hearing this, the
unhappy peasant began to lament his wife and children ; but
when the saint saw him so much afflicted he consoled him,
saying, " Go, my poor man, go ; thy whole family hath escaped
by flight to the mountains, but thy cattle, furniture, and other
c
34 THE LIFE OF SAINT COLUMBA. BOOK I.
effects the ruthless invaders have taken off with their unjust
spoils." When the poor man heard these words he went home,
and found that all had happened exactly as the saint foretold.
The Saint's prophecy regarding a Peasant called Goire, son
of Aidan.
AT another time, in the same way, a peasant, who at that
time was by far the bravest of all the inhabitants of Korkureti
(Corkaree, in Westmeath), asked the saint by what death he
would die. " Not in the battle-field shalt thou die," said the
saint, " nor at sea ; but the travelling companion of whom thou
hast no suspicion shall cause thy death." " Perhaps," said
Goire, " one of the friends who accompany me on my journey
may be intending to murder me, or my wife, in her love for some
younger man, may treacherously kill me." " Not so," replied
the saint. " Why," asked Goire, " wilt thou not tell now the
cause of my death ? " " Because," said the saint, " I do not
wish to tell more clearly just now the companion that is to
injure thee, lest the frequent thought of the fact should make
thee too unhappy, until the hour come when thou shalt find
that my words are verified. Why dwell longer on what I have
said ? " After the lapse ot a few years, this same Goire hap
pened to be lying one day under his boat scraping off the bark
from a spear-handle, when he heard others fighting near him.
He rose hastily to stop the fighting, but his knife, through
some neglect in the rapid movement, fell to the ground, and
made a very deep wound in his knee. By such a companion,
then, was his death caused, and he himself at once remembered
with surprise the holy man's prophecy. After a few months
he died, carried off by that same wound.
The Saint's foreknowledge and prophecy concerning a matter of
less moment, but so beautiful that it cannot, I think, be
over in silence.
FOB at another time, while the saint was living in the louan
island (Hy, now lona), he called one of the brothers, and thus
addressed him : " In the morning of the third day from this date
thou must sit down and wait on the shore on the western side of
this island, for a crane, which is a stranger from the northern re
gion of Hibernia, and hath been driven about by various winds,
shall come, weary and fatigued, after the ninth hour, and lie
down before thee on the beach quite exhausted. Treat that bird
tenderly, take it to some neighbouring house, where it may be
THE LIFE OF SAINT COLUMBA. BOOK I. 35
kindly received and carefully nursed and fed by thee for three
days and three nights. When the crane is refreshed with the
three days' rest, and is unwilling to abide any longer with us, it
shall fly back with renewed strength to the pleasant part of Scotia
(Ireland) from which it originally hath come. This bird do I
consign to thee with such special care because it cometh from our
own native place." The brother obeyed, and on the third day,
after the ninth hour, he watched as he was bid for the arrival
of the expected guest. As soon as the crane came and alighted
on the shore, he took it up gently in its weakness, and carried
it to a dwelling that was near, where in its hunger he fed it.
On his return to the monastery in the evening, the saint, without
any inquiry, but as stating a fact, said to him, " God bless thee,
my child, for thy kind attention to this foreign visitor, that
shall not remain long on its journey, but return within three
days to its old home." As the saint predicted, so exactly did the
event prove, for after being nursed carefully for three days, the
bird then gently rose on its wings to a great height in the sight
of its hospitable entertainer, and marking for a little its path
through the air homewards, it directed its course across the sea
to Hibernia, straight as it could fly, on a calm day.
The blessed man's foreknowledge regarding the Battle fought many
years after in the fortress of Cethirn, and regarding the Well
near that place.
ANOTHER time, after the convention of the kings at the Eidge
of Ceate (Druim Ceatt) — that is, of Aidan, son of Gabran, and Aid,
son of Ainmure — the blessed man returned to the sea-coast, and
on a calm day in summer he and the Abbot Comgell sat down
not far from the above-named fort. Then water was brought
in a bronze vessel to the saints from a well that was close by to
wash their hands. When St. Columba had received the water,
he thus spoke to Abbot Comgell, who was sitting at his side,
"A day shall come, 0 Comgell! when the well whence this
water now poured out for us was drawn will be no longer fit
for man's use." " How ? " said Comgell ; " shall the water of this
spring be defiled ? " " From this," said St. Columba, " that it
shall be filled with human blood ; for thy relatives and mine —
that is, the people of the Cruithni and the race of Niall — shall
be at war in the neighbouring fortress of Cethirn (now called
the Giant's Sconce, near Coleraine). Whence, at this same
well, an unhappy relative of mine shall be slain, and his blood,
mingling with that of many others, shall fill it up." This
truthful prophecy was duly accomplished after many years, for
36 THE LIFE OF SAINT COLUMBA. BOOK I.
in that battle, as is well known to many, Domnall, son of
Aid, came off victorious, and at that well, according to the
saint's word, a near kinsman of his was slain.
Another soldier of Christ, called Finan, who led the life of an
anchorite blamelessly for many years near the monastery of
the Oakwood Plain (Derry), and who was present at the battle,
in relating these things to me, Adamnan, assured me that he
saw a man's dead body lying in the well, and that on his return
from the battle-field the same day to the monastery of St.
Comgell, which is called in the Scotic tongue Cambas (on the
river Bann, in diocese of Derry), and from which he had first
set out, he found there two aged monks, of St. Comgell, who,
when he told them of the battle he saw, and of the well defiled
with human blood, at once said to him : " A true prophet is
Columba, for he foretold all the circumstances you now mention
to-day regarding the battle and the well, many years indeed
before they occurred ; this he did in our hearing to St. Com
gell, as he sat by the fort Cethirn."
How the Saint was favoured ly God's grace with the power of
distinguishing different Presents.
ABOUT the same time Conall, bishop of Culerathin (Coleraine),
collected almost countless presents from the people of the plain
of Eilne (Magh Elne, on the Bann), to give a hospitable recep
tion to the blessed man, and the vast multitude that accom
panied him, on his return from the meeting of the kings men
tioned above.
Many of these presents from the people were laid out in the
paved court of the monastery, that the holy man might bless
them on his arrival; and as he was giving the blessing he
specially pointed out one present, the gift of a wealthy man.
" The mercy of God," said he, "attendeth the man who gave this,
for his charity to the poor and his munificence." Then he
pointed out another of the many gifts, and said : " Of this
wise and avaricious man's offering, I cannot partake until
he repent sincerely of his sin of avarice." Now this saying
was quickly circulated among the crowd, and soon reaching the
ears of Columb, son of Aid, his conscience reproached him ; and
he ran immediately to the saint, and on bended knees repented
of his sin, promising to forsake his former greedy habits, and to
be liberal ever after, with amendment of life. The saint bade
him rise : and from that moment he was cured of the fault of
greediness, for he was truly a wise man, as was revealed to the
saint through that present.
THE LIFE OF SAINT COLUMBA. BOOK I. 37
But the munificent rich man, called Brenden, of whose pre
sent mention was made above, hearing the words of the saint
regarding himself, knelt down at his feet and besought him to
pray for him to the Lord. When at the outset the saint
reproved him for certain other sins of which he was guilty, he
expressed his heartfelt sorrow, and purpose of amendment. And
thus both these men were cured of the peculiar vices in which
they were wont to indulge. With like knowledge at another
time, on the occasion of his visit to the Great Cell of Deathrib
(Kilmore, in Boscommon), the saint knew the offering of a
stingy man, called Diormit, from many others collected in that
place on his arrival.
To have written thus much in the course of this first Book,
selecting a few instances out of many of the prophetic gifts of
the blessed man, may suffice. Indeed, I have recorded only a
few facts regarding this venerable person, for no doubt there
were very many more which could not come to men's know
ledge, from being hidden under a kind of sacramental character,
while those mentioned were like a few little drops which oozed
out, as it were, like newly fermented wine through the chinks
of a full vessel. For holy and apostolic men, in general, in
order to avoid vain-glory, strive as much as they can to conceal
the wonders of God's secret working within them. Yet God
sometimes, whether they will or no, maketh some of these known
to the world, and bringeth them into view by various means,
wishing thus, as He doth, to honour those saints who honour
Him, that is, our Lord Himself, to whom be glory for ever, and
ever.
Here endeth this first Book, and the next Book treateth of
the wonderful miracles, which generally accompanied his pro
phetic foreknowledge.
BOOK IT.
ON HIS MIRACULOUS POWERS.
CHAPTER I.
Of the Wine which, was formed from water.
AT another time, while the venerable man was yet a youth
in Scotia (Ireland) learning the wisdom of the Holy Scripture
under St. Findbarr, the bishop, it happened that on a festival day
not the least drop of wine could be found for the mystic sacrifice.
Hearing the ministers of the altar complaining among them
selves of this want, he took the vessel and went to the fountain,
that, as a deacon, he might bring pure spring water for the
celebration of the Holy Eucharist ; for at that time he was
himself serving in the order of deacon. The holy man then
blessed in faith that element of water taken from the spring,
invoking, as he did so, the name of our Lord Jesus Christ, who
in Cana of Galilee had changed water into wine : and the
result was that by His operation in this miracle also, an inferior
element, namely pure water, was changed into one of a more
excellent kind, namely wine, by the hands of this illustrious
man. The holy man, then returning from the fountain and
entering the church, placed beside the altar the vessel contain
ing this liquid, and said to the ministers : " Here is wine, which
the Lord Jesus hath sent, for the celebration of His mysteries."
The holy bishop and his ministers having ascertained the fact,
returned most ardent thanks to God. But the holy youth
ascribed this, not to himself, but to the holy bishop Vinnian.
This first proof of miraculous power, Christ the Lord manifested
in His disciple, just as under like circumstances He had made
it the first of His own miracles in Cana of Galilee.
Let this divine miracle, worked by our Columba, shine as a
light in the beginning of this book, that it may lead us on to
THE LIFE OF SAINT COLUMBA. BOOK II. 39
the other divine and miraculous powers which were seen in
him.
CHAPTER II.
Of the litter fruit of a tree changed into sweet ~by the blessing
of the Saint.
THEEE was a certain very fruitful apple-tree on the south
side of the monastery of the Oakwood Plain (Deny), in its
immediate vicinity. When the inhabitants of the place were
complaining of the exceeding bitterness of the fruit, the saint,
one day in autumn, came to it, and seeing the boughs bearing
to no purpose a load of fruit that injured rather than pleased
those who tasted it, he raised his holy hand and blessed it,
saying, " In the name of the Almighty God, 0 bitter tree, let
all thy bitterness depart from thee; and let all thy apples,
hitherto so very bitter, be now changed into the sweetest."
Wonderful to be told, quicker than the word, and at that very
instant, all the apples of the tree lost their bitterness, and
were changed to an amazing sweetness, according to the saint's
word.
CHAPTER III.
Of Corn sown after Midsummer and reaped in the beginning of
the month of August, at the Saint's prayer, while he was
residing in the louan island (Hy, now lona).
AT another time the saint sent his monks to bring from the
little farm of a peasant some bundles of twigs to build a dwell
ing. When they returned to the saint, with a freight-ship
laden with the foresaid bundles of twigs, they told the saint
that the poor man was very sorry on account of the loss. The
saint immediately gave them these directions, saying, " Lest
we do the man any wrong, take to him from us twice three
measures of barley, and let him sow it now in his arable land."
According to the saint's orders, the corn was sent and delivered
over to the poor man, who was called Findchan, with the above
directions. He received them with thanks, but asked, " What
good can any corn do, which is sown after midsummer, against
the nature of this soil ? " But his wife, on the contrary, said,
" Do what thou hast been ordered by the saint, to whom the
Lord will give whatever he asketh from Him." And the mes
sengers likewise said further, " St. Columba, who sent us to thee
with this gift, intrusted us also with this form of instruction
40 THE LIFE OF SAINT COLUMBA. BOOK II.
regarding thy crop, saying, ' Let that man trust in the omni
potence of God ; his corn, though sown now, when twelve
days of the month of June are passed, shall be reaped in the
beginning of the month of August.' " The peasant accordingly
ploughed and sowed, and the crop which, against hope, he sowed
at the above-mentioned time he gathered in ripe, to the admira
tion of all his neighbours, in the beginning of the month of
August, in that place which is called Delcros (not identified).
CHAPTER IV.
Of a Pestilential Cloud, and the curing of many.
AT another time also, while the saint was living in the louan
island (Hy, now lona), and was sitting on the little hill which is
called, in Latin, Munitio Magna, he saw in the north a dense rainy
cloud rising from the sea on a clear day. As the saint saw it
rising, he said to one of his monks, named Silnan, son of Neman -
don Mocusogin, who was sitting beside him, " This cloud will
be very baleful to man and beast, and after rapidly passing to
day over a considerable part of Scotia (Ireland) — namely, from
the stream called Ailbine (Delvin, in Meath) as far as the Ford
Clied (Athcliath, now Dublin) — it will discharge in the evening
a pestilential rain, which will raise large and putrid ulcers
on the bodies of men and on the udders of cows ; so that men
and cattle shall sicken and die, worn out with that poisonous
complaint. But we, in pity for their sufferings, ought to relieve
them by the merciful aid of God; do thou therefore, Silnan,
come down with me from this hill, and prepare for thy to
morrow's voyage. If God be willing and life spared to us, thou
shalt receive from me some bread which has been blessed by
the invocation of the name of God ; this thou shalt dip in water,
and on thy sprinkling therewith man and beast, they shall
speedily recover their health." Why need we linger over it ?
On the next day, when all things necessary had been hastily
got ready, Silnan received the blessed bread from the hands of
the saint, and set out on his voyage in peace. As he was
starting, the saint gave him these words of comfort, saying,
" Be of good courage, my dear son, for thou shalt have fair and
pleasant breezes day and night till thou come to that district
which is called Ard-Ceannachta (in Meath), that thou mayest
bring the more speedily relief with the healing bread to those
who are there sick." What more ? Silnan, obeying the saint's
words, had a quick and prosperous voyage, by the aid of God,
THE LIFE OF SAINT COLUMBA. BOOK II. 41
and coming to the above-mentioned part of the district, found the
people of whom the saint had been speaking destroyed by the
pestilential rain falling down from the aforesaid cloud, which
had passed rapidly on before him. In the first place, twice
three men were found in the same house near the sea reduced
to the agonies of approaching death, and when they were
sprinkled by Silnan with the blessed water, were very happily
healed that very day. The report of this sudden cure was soon
carried through the whole country which was attacked by this
most fatal disease, and drew all the sick people to St. Columba's
messenger, who, according to the saint's orders, sprinkled man
and beast with the water in which the blessed bread had been
dipped, and immediately they were restored to perfect health ;
then the people finding themselves and their cattle healed,
praised with the utmost expression of thankfulness Christ in
St. Columba. Now, in the incidents here related these two
things, I think, are clearly associated — namely, the gift of pro
phecy regarding the cloud and the miraculous power in healing
the sick. And to the truth of all these things, in every par
ticular, the above-named Silnan, the soldier of Christ and
messenger of St. Columba, bore testimony in the presence of
the Abbot Segine and the other fathers.
CHAPTEE V.
Of Ma/ugina the holy virgin, daughter of Daimen, who had
lived in Glochur, of the sons of Daimen (Clogher).
AT another time, while the saint was staying in the louan
island (Hy, now lona), he one day at prime called to him a certain
brother, named Lugaid, who in the Scotic tongue was surnamed
Lathir, and thus addressed him, saying, " Prepare quickly for
a rapid voyage to Scotia (Ireland), for it is of the very utmost
importance to me that thou be sent with a message from me
to Clocher, of the sons of Daimen (Clogher). For this last
night, by some accident, the holy virgin Maugina, daughter of
Daimen, when she was returning home from the oratory after
mass, stumbled and broke her thigh quite through. She is now
crying out, and very often calling on my name, in hope that
through me she may receive some comfort from the Lord."
What more need I say? As Lugaid was setting out in
accordance with the directions given him, the saint gave him
a little box made of pine, saying, "Let the blessed gift
which is contained in this little box be dipped in a vessel
42 THE LIFE OF SAINT COLUMBA. BOOK II.
of water when thou comest to visit Maugina, and let the water
thus blessed be poured on her thigh ; then at once, by the
invocation of God's name, her thigh-bone shall be joined
together and made strong, and the holy virgin shall recover
perfect health." This, too, the saint added, " Lo ! here in thy
presence I write on the lid of this little box the number of
twenty-three years, which the holy virgin shall enjoy of this
present life after receiving her health." All this was exactly
fulfilled as the saint had foretold ; for as soon as Lugaid came
to the holy virgin her thigh was washed, as the saint recom
mended, with the blessed water, and was in an instant com
pletely healed by the closing up of the bone. At the arrival
of the messenger of St. Columba, she expressed her joy in the
most earnest thanksgiving, and, after recovering her health, she
lived, according to the prophecy of the saint, twenty-three
years in the constant practice of good works.
CHAPTER VI.
Of the Cures of various Diseases which took place in the
Ridge of Ceate (Druimceatf).
WE have been told by well-informed persons that this man
of admirable life, by invoking the name of Christ, healed the
disorders of various sick persons in the course of that short time
which he spent at the Eidge of Ceate (Druimceatt), when attend
ing there the meeting of the kings. For either by his merely
stretching out his holy hand, or by the sprinkling of the sick
with the water blessed by him, or by their touching even the
hem of his cloak, or by their receiving his blessing on any
thing, as, for instance, on bread or salt, and dipping it in
water, they who believed recovered perfect health.
CHAPTEE VII.
Of a lump of Salt blessed by the Saint, which could not be
consumed by thejire.
ON another occasion also, Colga, son of Cellach, asked and
obtained from the saint a lump of salt which he had blessed,
for the cure of his sister, who had nursed him, and was now
suffering from a very severe attack of ophthalmia. This same
THE LIFE OF SAINT COLUMBA. BOOK II. 43
sister and nurse having received such a blessed gift from the
hand of her brother, hung it up on the wall over her bed ; and
after some days it happened by accident that a destructive fire
entirely consumed the village where this took place, and with
others the house of the aforesaid woman. Yet, strange to say,
in order that the gift of the blessed man might not be destroyed,
the portion of the wall from which it was suspended still stood
uninjured after the rest of the house had been burned down ;
nor did the fire venture to touch even the two uprights from
which the lump of salt was suspended.
CHAPTEK VIII.
Of a volume of a book in the Saint's handwriting ivhich could
not be destroyed by water.
I CANNOT think of leaving unnoticed another miracle which
once took place by means of the opposite element. For many
years after the holy man had departed to the Lord, a certain
youth fell from his horse into the river which in Scotic is called
Boend (the Boyne), and, being drowned, was for twenty days
under the water. When he fell he had a number of books
rked up in a leathern satchel under his arm ; and so, when
. was found after the above-mentioned number of days, he
still had the satchel of books pressed between his arm and
side. When the body was brought out to the dry ground, and
the satchel opened, it was found to contain, among the volumes
of other books, which were not only injured, but even rotten,
a volume written by the sacred fingers of St. Columba ; and
it was as dry and wholly uninjured as if it had been enclosed
in a desk.
Of another Miracle in similar circumstances.
AT another time a book of hymns for the office of every day in
the week, and in the handwriting of St. Columba, having slipt,
with the leathern satchel which contained it, from the shoulder
of a boy who fell from a bridge, was immersed in a certain
river in the province of the Lagenians (Leinster). This very book
lay in the water from the Feast of the Nativity of our Lord till
the end of the Paschal season, and was afterwards found on the
bank of the river by some women who were walking there : it
was brought by them in the same satchel, which was not only
44 THE LIFE OF SAINT COLUMBA. BOOK II.
soaked, but even rotten, to a certain priest named logenan, a
Pict by race, to whom it formerly belonged. On opening the
satchel himself, logenan found his book uninjured, and as clean
and dry as if it had been as long a time in his desk, and had
never fallen into the water. And we have ascertained, as un
doubted truth, from those who were well informed in the matter,
that the like things happened in several places with regard to
books written by the hands of St. Columba — namely, that the
books could suffer no injury from being immersed in water.
But the account we have given of the above-mentioned book of
logenan we have received from certain truthful, excellent, and
honourable men, who saw the book itself, perfectly white and
beautiful, after a submersion of so many days, as we have
stated.
These two miracles, though wrought in matters of small
moment, and shown in opposite elements — namely, fire and
water, — redound to the honour of the blessed man, and prove
his great and singular merits before the Lord.
CHAPTEE IX.
Of Water drawn from the hard rock ly the Saint's prayers.
AND since mention has been made a little before of the
element of water, we must not pass over in silence some other
miracles which the Lord wrought by the saint at different times
and places, in which the same element was concerned. On
another occasion, then, when the saint was engaged in one of
his journeys, a child was presented to him in the course of his
travels for baptism by its parents ; and because there was no
water to be found in the neighbourhood, the saint turned aside
to a rock that was near, and kneeling down, prayed for a short
time ; then rising up after his prayer, he blessed the face of the
rock, from which there immediately gushed out an abundant
stream of water ; and there he forthwith baptized the child.
Concerning the child that was baptized he uttered the follow
ing prophecy, saying, " This child shall live to a very great age ;
in his youth he will indulge freely the desires of the flesh ;
afterwards he will devote himself to the warfare of a Christian
until the very end of his life, and thus depart to the Lord in a
good old age." All this happened to the man according to the
prophecy of the saint. This was Lugucencalad, whose parents
were from Artdaib Muirchol (Ardnamurchan), where there is
seen even to this day a well called by the name of St. Columba.
THE LIFE OF SAINT COLUMBA. BOOK II. 45
CHAPTER X.
Of a poisonous Fountain of Water to which the blessed man gave
his blessing in the country of the Picts.
AGAIN, while the blessed man was stopping for some days in
the province of the Picts, he heard that there was a fountain
famous amongst this heathen people, which foolish men, having
their senses blinded by the devil, worshipped as a god. For
those who drank of this fountain, or purposely washed their
hands or feet in it, were allowed by God to be struck by
demoniacal art, and went home either leprous or purblind, or
at least suffering from weakness or other kinds of infirmity.
By all these things the Pagans were seduced, and paid divine
honour to the fountain. Having ascertained this, the saint one
day went up to the fountain fearlessly ; and, on seeing this, the
Druids, whom he had often sent away from him vanquished and
confounded, were greatly rejoiced, thinking that he would suffer
like others from the touch of that baneful water. But he,
having first raised his holy hand and invoked the name of
Christ, washed his hands and feet; and then with his com
panions, drank of the water which he had blessed. And from
that day the demons departed from the fountain ; and not only
was it not allowed to injure any one, but even many diseases
amongst the people were cured by this same fountain, after it
had been blessed and washed in by the saint.
CHAPTER XL
Of the Danger to the blessed man at Sea, and the sudden calm
produced by his prayers.
AT another time the holy man began to be in great danger
at sea, for the whole vessel was violently tossed and shaken
with the huge dashing waves, and a great storm of wind was
raging on all hands. The sailors then chanced to say to the
saint, as he was trying to help them to bale the vessel, " What
thou art now doing is of little use to us in our present danger,
thou shouldst rather pray for us as we are perishing." On
hearing this he ceased to throw out the bitter waters of the
green sea wave, and began to pour out a sweet and fervent
prayer to the Lord. Wonderful to relate ! The very moment
the saint stood up at the prow, with his hands stretched out to
heaven, and prayed to the Almighty, the whole storm of wind
46 THE LIFE OF SAINT COLUMBA. BOOK II.
and the fury of the sea ceased more quickly than can be told,
and a perfect calm instantly ensued. But those who were in
the vessel were amazed, and giving thanks with great admira
tion, glorified the Lord in the holy and illustrious man.
CHAPTEE XII.
Of another similar Peril to Mm at Sea.
AT another time, also, when a wild and dangerous storm was
raging, and his companions were crying out to the saint to
pray to the Lord for them, he gave them this answer, saying,
" On this day it is not for me, but for that holy man, the Abbot
Cainnech, to pray for you in your present peril." What I am
to relate is wonderful. The very same hour St. Cainnech was
in his monastery, which in Latin is called Campulus Bovis,
but in Scotic Ached-bou (Aghaboe, in Queen's County), and
heard with the inner ear of his heart, by a revelation of the
Holy Ghost, the aforesaid words of St. Columba ; and when
he had just begun to break the blessed bread in the refectory
after the ninth hour, he hastily left the table, and with one
shoe on his foot, while the other in his extreme haste was left
behind, he went quickly to the church, saying, " It is not for us
now to take time to dine, when the vessel of St. Columba is in
danger at sea, for at this moment he is lamenting and calling
on the name of Cainnech to pray to Christ for him and his
companions in peril." When he had said this he entered the
oratory and prayed for a short time on his bended knees ; and
the Lord heard his prayer, the storm immediately ceased, and
the sea became very calm. Whereupon St. Columba, seeing
in spirit, though there was a far distance between them, the
haste of Cainnech in going to the church, uttered, to the wonder
of all, from his pure heart, these words, saying, "Now I know,
0 Cainnech, that God has heard thy prayer; now hath thy
swift running to the church with a single shoe greatly profited
us." In such a miracle as this, then, we believe that the
prayers of both saints had their share in the work.
CHAPTEE XIII.
Of the Staff of St. Cainnech which was forgotten in the Harbour.
ON another occasion, the same Cainnech above mentioned
embarked for Scotia (Ireland) from the harbour of the louan
island (Hy, now lona), and forgot to take his staff with him. After
THE LIFE OF SAINT COLUMBA. BOOK II. 47
his departure the staff was found on the shore, and given into
the hands of St. Columba, who, on his return home, brought it
into the oratory, and remained there for a very long time alone
in prayer. Cainnech, meanwhile, on approaching the Oidechan
island (Oidech, near Isla, probably Texa) suddenly felt pricked
at heart at the thought of his forgetfulness, and was deeply
afflicted at it. But after some time, leaving the vessel, and
falling upon his knees in prayer on the ground, he found before
him on the turf of the little land of Aithche (genitive of Aitech)
the staff which, in his forgetfulness, he had left behind him at
the landing-place in the louan island (Hy, now lona). He was
greatly surprised at its being thus brought to him by the divine
power, and gave thanks to God.
CHAPTEE XIV.
How BaitTiene and Columban, the son of Beogna, holy priests,
asked of the Lord, through the prayers of the blessed man,
that he would grant them on the same day a favourable wind,
though sailing in different directions.
AT another time, also, the above-named holy men came in
company to the saint, and asked him, with one consent, to seek
and obtain for them from the Lord a favourable wind on the
next day, though they were to set out in different directions.
The saint in answer gave them this reply, "To-morrow morning,
Baithene, setting sail from the harbour of the louan island (Hy,
now lona), shall have a favourable wind until he reaches the
landing-place of the plain of Lunge (Magh Lunge, in Tiree)."
And the Lord granted this favour according to the word of the
saint ; for Baithene on that same day crossed, with full sails,
the whole of the open sea, as far as the Ethican land (Tiree).
But at the third hour of the same day, the venerable man called
to him the priest Columban, saying, " Baithene has now
happily arrived at the wished-for haven, prepare thou then
to sail to-day; the Lord will soon change the wind to the
north." And the same hour the wind from the south obey
ing the word thus spoken by the holy man, wheeled round
and became a northern breeze ; and thus on the same day
these two holy men departed the one from the other in peace
and both set sail, Baithene in the morning for the Ethican land
(Tiree), and Columban in the afternoon for Hibernia, and made
the voyages with full sails and fair winds. The Lord wrought
this miracle in answer to the prayer of the illustrious man,
according as it is written, "All things are possible to him
48 THE LIFE OF. SAINT COLUMBA. BOOK II.
that believeth." After the departure of St. Columban on that
day, St. Columba uttered this prophecy concerning him : " The
holy man, Columban, whom we have blessed on his departure,
shall never see my face again in this world." And this was
afterwards fulfilled, for the same year St. Columban passed
away to the Lord.
CHAPTER XV.
Of the driving out of a Demon that lurked in a Milk-pail.
AT another time, a certain youth, named Columban, grandson
of Brian, came forward hurriedly, and stopped at the door of
the little cell in which the blessed man was writing. This same
person, being on his way home from the milking of the cows,
and carrying on his back a vessel full of new milk, asked the
saint to bless his burden, as he usually did. Then the saint,
being at the time at some distance away in front of him, raised
his hand, and formed the saving sign in the air, which at once
was greatly agitated ; the bar, which fastened the lid of the
pail, being pushed back through the two openings that received
it, was shot away to a great distance, while the lid fell to the
earth, and the greater part of the milk was spilled upon the
ground. The young lad then laid down the vessel, with the little
milk that remained, on its bottom on the ground, and kneeled
down in prayer. The saint said to him, " Eise up, Columban,
for thou hast acted negligently in thy work to-day, inasmuch
as thou didst not banish the demon that lurked in the bottom
of the empty vessel by forming on it the sign of the cross of
our Lord before the milk was poured into it ; and now, as thou
seest, being unable to bear the power of that sign, he has quickly
lied in terror, troubled the whole vessel in every corner, and
spilled the milk. Bring the vessel, then, nearer to me here that
I may bless it." This being done, the half-empty pail, which
the saint had blessed, was found the same instant, filled by
divine agency ; and the little that had previously remained in
the bottom was at once increased under the blessing of his holy
hand, so as to fill it to the brim.
CHAPTER XVI.
Concerning a Vessel which 'a sorcerer named Silnan had filled with
milk taken from a bull.
THE following is told as having occurred in the house of a
rich peasant named Foirtgirn, who lived in Mount Cainle
THE LIFE OF SAINT COLUMBA. BOOK II. 49
(not identified). When the saint was staying there, he decided
justly a dispute between two rustics, whose coming to him he
knew beforehand : and one of them, who was a sorcerer, took
milk, by his diabolical art, at the command of the saint, from
a bull that was near. This the saint directed to be done, not to
confirm these sorceries — God forbid ! but to put an end to them
in the presence of all the people. The blessed man, therefore,
demanded that the vessel, full, as it seemed to be, of this milk,
should be immediately given to him ; and he blessed it with
this sentence, saying : " Now it shall in this way be proved
that this is not true milk, as it is supposed to, be^ but blood,
which is coloured by the artifice of demons to impose on men."
This was no sooner said than the milky colour gave place to
the true natural colour of blood. The bull also, which in the
space of one hour wasted and pined away with a hideous lean
ness, and was all but dead, was sprinkled with water that had
been blessed by the saint, and recovered with astonishing
rapidity.
CHAPTEE XVII.
Of Lugne Mocumin.
ONE day a young man of good disposition and parts, named
Lugne, who afterwards, in his old age, was prior of the
monastery of the Elena island (Eilean Naomh, now Nave
island, near Isla), came to the saint, and complained of a
bleeding which for many months had often poured profusely
from the nostrils. Having asked him to come nearer, the saint
pressed both his nostrils with two fingers of his right hand and
blessed him. And from that hour when he received the bless
ing, till the last day of his life, a drop of blood never came
from his nose.
CHAPTEE XVIII.
Of the Fishes which were specially provided ly God for the
blessed man.
ON another occasion, when some hardy fishermen, com
panions of this renowned man, had taken five fish in their net
in the river Sale (the Shiel, or Seil), which abounds in fish,
the saint said to them, " Try again," said he ; " cast thy net
into the stream, and you shall at once find a large fish which
the Lord has provided for me." In obedience to the saint's
command they hauled in their nets a salmon of astonishing
size, which God had provided for him.
50 THE LIFE OF SAINT COLUMBA. BOOK IT.
CHAPTEE XIX.
AT another time also, when the saint was stopping some
days beside the lake of Ce (Loughkey, in Eoscommon), he
delayed his companions when they were anxious to go a-fishing,
saying : "No fish will be found in the river to-day or to-morrow;
but on the third day I will send you, and you shall find two
large river-salmon taken in the net." And so, after two short
days, they cast their nets, and landed two, of the most extra
ordinary size, which they found in the river which is named
Bo (the Boyle). In the capture of fish on these two occasions,
the power of miracles appears accompanied at the same time
by a prophetic foreknowledge, and for both graces the saint
and his companions gave fervent thanks to God.
CHAPTEE XX.
Regarding Nesan the Crooked, who lived in the country bordering
on the Lake of Apors (Loehaber).
THIS Nesan, though very poor, joyfully received on one occa
sion the saint as his guest. And after he had entertained him
as hospitably as his means would afford for one night, the saint
asked him the number of his heifers. He answered, " Five."
The saint then said, " Bring them to me that I may bless them."
And when they were brought the saint raised his holy hand
and blessed them, and said : " From this day thy five little
heifers shall increase to the number of one hundred and five
cows." ' And as this same Nesan was a man of humble condi
tion, having a wife and children, the saint added this further
blessing, saying : " Thy seed shall be blessed in thy children
and grandchildren." And all this was completely fulfilled
without any failure, according to the word of the saint.
CHAPTEE XXL
ON the other hand, he pronounced the following prophetic
sentence on a certain rich and very stingy man named Uigene,
who despised St. Columba, and showed him no hospitality,
saying : " But the riches of that niggardly man who hath de
spised Christ in the strangers that came to be his guests, will
gradually become less from this day, and be reduced to nothing;
and he himself shall be a beggar ; and his son shall go about
from house to house with a half-empty wallet : and he shall be
slain by a rival beggar with an axe, in the pit of a threshing-
floor." All this was exactly fulfilled in both cases, according
to the prophecy of the holy man.
THE LIFE OF SAINT COLUMBA. BOOK II. 51
CHAPTEE XXII.
How the Iwly man blessed the few Cattle belonging to Columban,
a man of equally humble condition; and how, after his
blessing, they increased to the number of a hundred.
AT another time also, the blessed man was one night kindly
treated as his guest by the aforesaid Columban, who was then
very poor, and, as he had done before in the above account of
Nesan, he asked his host, early next morning, as to the amount
and kind of his goods. When asked, he said : " I have only
five small cows, but if thou bless them they will increase to
more." And immediately he was directed by the saint to bring
them before him, and in the same manner as was related concern
ing the five cows of Nesan, he gave as rich a blessing to those of
Columban, and said, " Thou shalt have, by God's gift, a hundred
and five cows, and an abundant blessing shall be also upon thy
children and grandchildren." All this was granted to the full
in his lands, and cattle, and offspring, according to the prophecy
of the blessed man ; and, what is very strange, the number of
cattle determined by the saint for both these men, whenever it
reached one hundred and five, could not in any way be in
creased ; for those that were beyond this stated number, being
carried off by various accidents, never appeared to be of any
value, except in so far as anything might be employed for the
use of the family, or spent in almsgiving. In this history,
then, as in the others, the gifts both of miracles and prophecy
are clearly shown together, for in the large increase of the
cattle we see the virtue of his blessing and of his prayer, and,
in the determination of the number, his prophetic knowledge.
CHAPTER XXIII.
Of the Death of some wicked men who had spurned the Saint.
THE venerable man had a great love for the above-named
Columban, on account of the many acts of kindness he had
done to him, and caused him by blessing him, from being poor
to become very rich. Now, there was at that time a certain
wicked man, a persecutor of the good, named Joan, son of
Conall, son of Domnall, sprung from the royal tribe of Gabran.
This man troubled the foresaid Columban, the friend of St.
Columba ; and not once, but twice, attacked and plundered his
52 THE LIFE OF SAINT COLUMBA. BOOK II.
house and carried off all he could find in it. Hence it not un
fitly happened to this wicked man, that as he and his associates,
after having plundered the house of the same person a third
time, were returning to their vessel, laden with plunder, he met
advancing towards him, the holy man whom he had despised,
when he thought he was afar off. When the saint reproached
him for his evil deeds, and advised and besought him to give
up the plunder, he remained hardened and obstinate, and
scorned the holy man ; and thus mocking and laughing at the
blessed man, he embarked with the booty. Yet the saint
followed him to the water's edge, and wading up to the knees in
the clear green sea- water, with both his hands raised to heaven,
earnestly invoked Christ, who glorifies His elect, who are giving
glory to Him.
Now the haven where he thus for some time stood and be
sought the Lord after the departure of the oppressor, is at a
place called in Scotic Ait-Chambas Art-Muirchol (Camus-an-
Gaall, Ardnamurchan) . Then the saint, as soon as he had finished
his prayer, returned to the dry ground, and sat down on the
higher ground with his companions, and spoke to them in
that hour these very terrible words, saying : " This miserable
wretch who'' hath despised Christ in His servants will never
return to the port from which you have now seen him set sail :
neither shall he, nor his wicked associates, reach the land for
which they are bound, for a sudden death shall prevent it. This
day a furious storm shall proceed from a cloud, which you will
soon see rising in the north, shall overwhelm him and his
companions, so that not one of them will survive to tell the
tale." After the lapse of a few moments, even while the day
was perfectly calm, behold ! a cloud arose from the sea, as the
saint had said, and caused a great hurricane, which overtook the
plunderer with his spoil, between the Malean and Colosus islands
(Mull and Colonsay), and overwhelmed him in the midst of the
sea, which was suddenly lashed into fury : and not even one of
those in the vessel escaped, as the saint had said : and in this
wonderful manner, by such a singular storm, while the whole
sea around remained quiet, were the robbers miserably, but
justly, overwhelmed and sunk into the deep.
CHAPTEK XXIV.
Of a certain Feradacli, who was cut off by sudden death.
AT another time also, the holy man specially recommended
a certain exile, of noble race among the Picts, named Tarain, to
THE LIFE OF SAINT COLUMBA. BOOK II. 53
the care of one Feradach, a rich man, who lived in the Ilean island
(Isla), that he might be received in his retinue for some months
as one of his friends. After he had accepted the person thus
highly recommended at the hand of the holy man, he in a few
days acted treacherously, and cruelly ordered him to be put to
death. When the news of this horrid crime was carried by
travellers to the saint, he replied by the following prediction :
" That unhappy wretch hath not lied unto me, but unto God,
and his name shall be blotted out of the book of life. We are
speaking these words now in the middle of summer, but in
autumn, before he shall eat of swine's flesh that hath been
fattened on the fruits of the trees, he shall be seized by a sudden
death, and carried off to the infernal regions." When the
miserable man was told this prophecy of the saint, he scorned
and laughed at him ; and when some days of the autumn months
had passed, he ordered a sow that had been fattened on the
kernels of nuts to be killed, none of his other swine having yet
been slaughtered : he ordered also, that its entrails should be
immediately taken out and a piece quickly roasted for him on
the spit, so that by hurrying and eating of it thus early, he
might falsify the prediction of the blessed man. As soon as it
was roasted he asked for a very small morsel to taste it, but
before the hand which he stretched out to take it had reached
his mouth he expired, and fell down on his back a corpse. And
all who saw or heard it were greatly astonished and terrified ;
and they honoured and glorified Christ in his holy prophet.
CHAPTEE XXV.
Concerning a certain other impious man, a persecutor of the
Churches, who ivas called in Latin Manus Dextera.
ON one occasion when the blessed man was living in the Hinba
island (Eilean-na-Naoimh), and set about excommunicating
some destroyers of the churches, and amongst them the sons of
Conall, son of Domnall, one of whom was the Joan before
mentioned, one of their wicked associates was instigated by
the devil to rush on the saint with a spear, on purpose to kill
him. To prevent this, one of the brethren, named Findlugan,
put on the saint's cowl and interposed, being ready to die
for the holy man. But in a wonderful way the saint's gar
ment served as a kind of strong and impenetrable fence
which could not be pierced by the thrust of a very sharp
54 THE LfFE OF SAINT COLUMBA. BOOK II.
spear though made by a powerful man, but remained un
touched, and he who had it on was safe and uninjured under
the protection of such a guard. But the ruffian who did this,
whose name was Manus Dextera, retraced his steps thinking he
had transfixed the saint with his spear. Exactly a year after
wards, when the saint was staying in the louan island (Hy,
now lona), he said, " A year is just now elapsed since the day
Lam-dess did what he could to put Findlugan to death in my
place ; but he himself is slain, I believe, this very hour." And
so it happened, at that very moment, according to the revela
tion of the saint, in the island which in Latin may be called
Longa (Luing), where, in a battle fought • between a number of
men on both sides, this Lam-dess alone was slain by Cronan,
son of Baithene, with a dart, shot, it is said, in the name of
St. Coluniba ; and when he fell the battle ceased.
CHAPTER XXVI.
Of yd another Oppressor of the innocent.
WHEN the holy man, while yet a youth in deacon's orders,
was living in the region of the Lagenians (Leinster), learning
the divine wisdom, it happened one day^that an unfeeling and
pitiless oppressor of the innocent was pursuing a young girl who
fled before him on a level plain. As she chanced to observe the
aged Gemman, master of the foresaid young deacon, reading
on the plain, she ran straight to him as fast as she could.
Being alarmed at such an unexpected occurrence, he called
on Columba, who was reading at some distance, that both to
gether, to the best of their ability, might defend the girl from
her pursuer ; but he immediately came up, and without any
regard to their presence, stabbed the girl with his lance under
their very cloaks, and leaving her lying dead at their feet
turned to go away back. Then the old man, in great affliction,
turning to Columba, said : " How long, holy youth Columba,
shall God, the just Judge, allow this horrid crime and this
insult to us to go unpunished ?" Then the saint at once
pronounced this sentence on the perpetrator of the deed:
" At the very instant the soul of this girl whom he hath mur
dered ascendeth into heaven, shall the soul of the murderer go
down into hell." And scarcely had he spoken the words when
the murderer of the innocent, like Ananias before Peter, fell
down dead on the spot before the eyes of the holy youth. The
news of this sudden and terrible vengeance was soon spread
THE LIFE OF SAINT COLUMBA. BOOK II. 55
abroad throughout many districts of Scotia (Ireland), and with
it the wonderful fame of the holy deacon.
What we have said may suffice concerning the terrible pun
ishments inflicted on those who were opposed to him ; we will
now relate a few things regarding wild beasts.
CHAPTEK XXVII.
How a Wild Boar was destroyed through his prayers.
ON one occasion when the blessed man was staying some days
in the Scian island (Sky), he left the brethren and went alone
a little farther than usual to pray ; and having entered a dense
forest he met a huge wild boar that happened to be pursued by
hounds. As soon as the saint saw him at some distance, he
stood looking intently at him. Then raising his holy hand
and invoking the name of God in fervent prayer, he said to it,
" Thou shalt proceed no further in this direction : perish in the
spot which thou hast now reached." At the sound of these
words of the saint in the woods, the terrible brute was not only
unable to proceed farther, but by the efficacy of his word im
mediately fell dead before his face.
CHAPTER XXVIII.
How an Aquatic Monster was driven off ly virtue of the blessed
man's prayer.
ON another occasion also, when the blessed man was living
for some days in the province of the Picts, he was obliged to cross
the river Nesa (the Ness) ; and when he reached the bank of the
river, he saw some of the inhabitants burying an unfortunate
man, who, according to the account of those who were burying
him, was a short time before seized, as he was swimming, and
bitten most severely by a monster that lived in the water ; his
wretched body was, though too late, taken out with a hook, by
those who came to his assistance in a boat. The blessed man,
on hearing this, was so far from being dismayed, that he directed
one of his companions to swim over and row across the coble
that was moored at the farther bank. And Lugne Mocumin
hearing the command of the excellent man, obeyed without the
56 THE LIFE OF SAINT COLUMBA. BOOK II.
least delay, taking off all his clothes, except his tunic, and leap
ing into the water. But the monster, which, so far from being
satiated, was only roused for more prey, was lying at the bottom
of the stream, and when it felt the water disturbed above by the
man swimming, suddenly rushed out, and, giving an awful roar,
darted after him, with its mouth wide open, as the man swam
in the middle of the stream. Then the blessed man observing
this, raised his holy hand, while all the rest, brethren as well
as strangers, were stupefied with terror, and, invoking the name
of God, formed the saving sign of the cross in the air, and com
manded the ferocious monster, saying, " Thou shalt go no
further, nor touch the man ; go back with all speed." Then at
the voice of the saint, the monster was terrified, and fled more
quickly than if it had been pulled back with ropes, though it
had just got so near to Lugne, as he swam, that there was not
more than the length of a spear-staff between the man and the
beast. Then the brethren seeing that the monster had gone
back, and that their comrade Lugne returned to them in the
boat safe and sound, were struck with admiration, and gave
glory to God in the blessed man. And even the barbarous
heathens, who were present, were forced by the greatness of
this miracle, which they themselves had seen, to magnify the
God of the Christians.
CHAPTEE XXIX.
How the Saint Messed the Soil of this Island that no poison of
Serpents should henceforth hurt any one in it.
ON a certain day in that same summer in which he passed
to the Lord, the saint went in a chariot to visit some of the
brethren, who were engaged in some heavy work in the western
part of the louan island (Hy, now lona). After speaking to
them some words of comfort and encouragement, the saint stood
upon the higher ground, %and uttered the following prophecy : —
" My dear children, I know that from this day you shall never
see my face again anywhere in this field." Seeing the brethren
filled with sorrow upon hearing these words, the saint tried to
comfort them as best he could ; and, raising both his holy hands,
he blessed the whole of this our island, saying : — " From this
very moment poisonous reptiles shall in no way be able to hurt
men or cattle in this island, so long as the inhabitants shall
continue to observe the commandments of Christ." .
THE LIFE OF SAINT COLUMBA. BOOK II. 57
CHAPTEE XXX.
Of the Knife which the Saint blessed ly signing it with the
Lord's Cross.
AT another time, a certain brother named Molua, grandson
of Brian, came to the saint whilst he was writing, and said to
him, " This knife which I hold in my hand I beseech thee to
bless." The saint, without turning his face from the book out
of which he was writing, extended his holy hand a little,
with the pen in it, and blessed the knife by signing it. But
when the foresaid brother had departed with the knife thus
blessed, the saint asked, " What sort of a knife have I blessed
for that brother?" Diormit, the saint's faithful attendant,
replied, " Thou hast blessed a knife for killing bulls or oxen."
The saint then, on the contrary, said, " I trust in my Lord that
the knife I have blessed will never wound men or cattle."
This word of the holy man received the strongest confirmation
the same hour ; for the same brother went beyond the enclosure
of the monastery and attempted to kill an ox, but, although he
made three strong efforts with all his strength, yet he could not
even cut the skin. When this came to the knowledge of the
monks, they skilfully melted down the iron of the knife and
applied a thin coating of it to all the iron tools used in the
monastery. And such was the abiding virtue of the saint's
blessing, that these tools could never afterwards inflict a wound
on flesh.
CHAPTEE XXXI.
Of the cure of Diormit when sick.
AT another time, Diormit, the saint's faithful attendant, was
sick even unto death, and the saint went to see him in his
extremity. Having invoked the name of Christ, he stood at
the bed of the sick man and prayed for him, saying, " 0 my
Lord, be propitious to me, I beseech thee, and take not away
the soul of my faithful attendant from its dwelling in the flesh
whilst I live." Having said this, he remained silent for a
short time, and then again he spoke these words, with his sacred
mouth, " My son shall not only not die at present, but will even
live for many years after my death." This prayer of the saint
was heard, for, on the instant that the saint's prayer was made,
Diormit was restored to perfect health, and lived also for many
years after St. Columba had passed to the Lord.
58 THE LIFE OF SAINT COLUMBA. BOOK II.
CHAPTEE XXXII.
Of the cure of Finten, the son of Aid, when at the point
of death.
AT another time also, as the saint was making a journey
beyond the Dorsal Eidge of Britain (Drumalban), a certain
youth named Finten, one of his companions, was seized with a
sudden illness and reduced to the last extremity. His comrades
were much afflicted on his account, and besought the saint to
pray for him. Yielding at once to their entreaties, Columba
raised his holy hands to heaven in earnest prayer, and blessing
the sick person, said, " This youth for whom you plead shall
enjoy a long life ; he will survive all who are here present,
and die in a good old age." This prophecy of the blessed man
was fulfilled in every particular; for this same youth, after
founding the monastery of Kailli-au-inde (not identified), closed
this present life at a good old age.
CHAPTEE XXXIII.
Of the boy whom the holy man raised from the dead, in the
name of the Lord Christ.
AT the time when St. Columba was tarrying for some days
in the province of the Picts, a certain peasant who, with his
whole family, had listened to and learned through an inter
preter the word of life preached by the holy man, believed and
was baptized — the husband, together with his wife, children,
and domestics.
A very few days after his conversion, one of the sons of this
householder was attacked with a dangerous illness and brought
to the very borders of life and death. When the Druids saw
him in a dying state they began with great bitterness to up
braid his parents, and to extol their own gods as more power
ful than the God of the Christians, and thus to despise God as
though He were weaker than their gods. When all this was
told to the blessed man, he burned with zeal for God, and pro
ceeded with some of his companions to the house of the friendly
peasant, where he found the afflicted parents celebrating the
obsequies of their child, who was newly dead. The saint, on
seeing their bitter grief, strove to console them with words of
comfort, and exhorted them not to doubt in any way the omni
potence of God. He then inquired, saying, " In what chamber
THE LIFE OF SAINT COLUMBA. BOOK II. 59
is the dead body of your son lying ? " And being conducted
by the bereaved father under the sad roof, he left the whole crowd
of persons who accompanied him outside, and immediately
entered by himself into the house of mourning, where, falling
on his knees, he prayed to Christ our Lord, having his face
bedewed with copious tears. Then rising from his kneeling
posture, he turned his eyes towards the deceased and said, " In
the name of the Lord Jesus Christ, arise, and stand upon thy
feet." At the sound of this glorious word from the saint, the
soul returned to the body, and the person that was dead opened
his eyes and revived. The apostolic man then taking him by
the hand raised him up, and placing him in a standing position,
led him forth with him from the house, and restored him to his
parents. Upon this the cries of the applauding multitude
broke forth, sorrow was turned into joy, and the God of the
Christians glorified.
We must thus believe that our saint had the gift of miracles
like the prophets Elias and Eliseus, and like the apostles Peter,
Paul, and John, he had the honour bestowed on him of raising
the dead to life, and now in heaven, placed amid the prophets
and apostles, this prophetic and apostolic man enjoys a glorious
and eternal throne in the heavenly fatherland with Christ, who
reigns with the Father in the unity of the Holy Ghost for ever
and ever.
CHAPTEE XXXIV.
Concerning the illness with which the Druid Broichan was visited
for his detention of a female slave, and his cure on her release.
ABOUT the same time the venerable man, from motives of
humanity, besought Broichan the Druid to liberate a certain
Scotic female slave, and when he very cruelly and obstinately
refused to part with her, the saint then spoke to him to the
following effect : — " Know, 0 Broichan, and be assured that if
thou refuse to set this captive free, as I desire thee, that .thou
shalt die suddenly before I take my departure again from this
province." Having said this in presence of Brude, the king,
he departed from the royal palace and proceeded to the river
Nesa (the Ness) ; from this stream he took a white pebble, and
showing it to his companions said to them: — "Behold this
white pebble by which God will effect the cure of many diseases
among this heathen nation."
Having thus spoken, he instantly added, " Broichan is chas-
60 THE LIFE OF SAINT COLUMBA. BOOK II.
tised grievously at this moment, for an angel being sent from
heaven, and striking him severely, hath broken into many pieces
the glass cup in his hand from which he was drinking, and hath
left him gasping deeply for breath, and half dead. Let us await
here a short time, for two of the king's messengers, who have
been sent after us in haste, to request us to return quickly and
help the dying Broichan, who, now that he is thus terribly pun
ished, consenteth to set the girl free."
Whilst the saint was yet speaking, behold, there arrived, as
he had predicted, two horsemen who were sent by the king, and
who related all that had occurred to Broichan in the royal
fortress, according to the prediction of the saint — both the
breaking of the drinking goblet, the punishment of the Druid,
and his willingness to set his captive at liberty ; they then
added : " The king and his friends have sent us to thee to
request that thou wouldst cure his foster-father Broichan, who
lieth in a dying state.
Having heard these words of the messengers, St. Columba
sent two of his companions to the king with the pebble which
he had blessed, and said to them : — " If Broichan shall first pro
mise to set the maiden free, then at once immerse this little
stone in water, and let him drink from it and he shall be
instantly cured ; but if he break his vow and refuse to liberate
her, he shall die that instant."
The two persons, in obedience to the saint's instructions, pro
ceeded to the palace, and announced to the king the words of
the venerable man. When they were made known to the king
and his tutor Broichan, they were so dismayed that they imme
diately liberated the captive and delivered her to the saint's
messengers. The pebble was then immersed in water, and in
a wonderful manner, contrary to the laws of nature, the stone
floated on the water like a nut or an apple, nor, as it had been
blessed by the holy man, could it be submerged. Broichan
drank from the stone as it floated on the water, and instantly
returning from the verge of death recovered his perfect health
and soundness of body.
This remarkable pebble, which was afterwards preserved
among the treasures of the king, through the mercy of God
effected the cure of sundry diseases among the people, while it
in the same manner floated when dipped in water. And what
is very wonderful, when this same stone was sought for by those
sick persons whose term of life had arrived, it could not be
found. Thus, on the very day on which King Brude died, though
it was sought for, yet it could not be found in the place where
it had been previously laid.
THE LIFE OF SAINT COLtJMBA. BOOK II. 61
CHAPTER XXXV.
Of the manner in which St. Columba overcame Broichan the Druid
and sailed against the wind.
ON a certain day after the events recorded in the foregoing
chapters, Broichan, whilst conversing with the saint, said to
him : " Tell me, Columba, when dost thou propose to set sail ?, "
The saint replied, " I intend to begin my voyage after three
days, if God permits me, and preserves my life." Broichan said,
" On the contrary, thou shalt not be able, for I can make the
winds unfavourable to thy voyage, and cause a great darkness
to envelop you in its shade." Upon this the saint observed :
" The almighty power of God ruleth all things, and in His name
and under His guiding providence all our movements are
directed." What more need I say ? That same day, the saint,
accompanied by a large number of followers, went to the long
lake of the river Nesa (Loch Ness), as he had determined. Then
the Druids began to exult, seeing that it had become very dark,
and that the wind was very violent and contrary. Nor should
we wonder, that God sometimes allows them, with the aid of evil
spirits, to raise tempests and agitate the sea. For thus legions
of demons once met in the midst of the sea the holy bishop
Germanus, whilst on his voyage through the Gallican channel
to Britain, whither he was going from zeal for the salvation of
souls, and exposed him to great dangers, by raising a violent
storm and causing great darkness whilst it was yet day. But
all these things were dissipated by the prayers of St. Ger
manus more rapidly than his words were uttered, and the dark
ness passed away.
Our Columba, therefore, seeing that the sea was violently
agitated, and that the wind was most unfavourable for his voy
age, called on Christ the Lord and embarked in his small boat ;
and whilst the sailors hesitated, he the more confidently ordered
them to raise the sails against the wind. No sooner was this
order executed, while the whole crowd was looking on, than the
vessel ran against the wind with extraordinary speed. And
after a short time, the wind, which hitherto had been against
them, veered round to help them on their voyage, to the intense
astonishment of all. And thus throughout the remainder of that
day the light breeze continued most favourable, and the skiff of
blessed man was carried safely to the wished-for haven.
Let the reader therefore consider how great and eminent this
venerable man must have been, upon whom God Almighty, for
G2 THE LIFE OF SAINT COLUMBA. BOOK II.
the purpose of manifesting His illustrious name before a heathen
people, bestowed the gift of working such miracles as those we
have recorded.
CHAPTEE XXXVI.
Of the sudden opening of the door of the Royal Fortress of its
own accord.
AT another time, when the saint made his first journey to
King Brude, it happened that the king, elated by the pride of
royalty, acted haughtily, and would not open his gates on the
first arrival of the blessed man. When the man of God observed
this, he approached the folding doors with his companions, and
having first formed upon them the sign of the cross of our
Lord, he then knocked at and laid his hand upon the gate, which
instantly flew open of its own accord, the bolts having been
driven back with great force. The saint and his companions
then passed through the gate thus speedily opened. And when
the king learned what had occurred, he and his councillors
were filled] with alarm, and immediately setting out from the
palace, he advanced to meet with due respect the blessed man,
whom he addressed in the most conciliating and respectful
language. And ever after from that day, so long as he lived,
the king held this holy and reverend man in very great honour,
as was due.
CHAPTEE XXXVII.
Of a similar unclosing of the Church of the Field of the Two
Streams (Tirdaglas, in the county of Tipper ary).
UPON another occasion, when the saint was staying a few
days in Scotia (Ireland), he went, on invitation, to visit the
brethren in the monastery of the Field of the Two Streams
(Tirdaglas). But it happened, by some accident, that when he
arrived at the church the keys of the oratory could not be found.
When the saint observed the brethren lamenting to one another
about the keys being astray, and the door locked, he went him
self to the door and said, " The Lord is able, without a key,
to open his own house for his servants." At these words, the
bolts of the lock were driven back with great force, and the door
opened of itself. The saint entered the church before all with
universal admiration ; and he was afterwards most hospitably
THE LIFE OF SAINT COLUMBA. BOOK II. 03
entertained by the brethren, and treated by all with the greatest
respect and veneration.
CHAPTEE XXXVIII.
Concerning a certain Peasant who was a beggar, for whom the
Saint made and blessed a stake for killing wild beasts.
AT another time there came to St. Columba a very poor
peasant, who lived in the district which borders the shores of
the Aporic lake (Lochaber). The blessed man, taking pity on
the wretched man, who had not wherewithal to support his
wife and family, gave him all the alms he could afford, and
then said to him, " Poor man, take a branch from the neigh
bouring wood, and bring it to me quickly." The wretched man
brought the branch as he was directed, and the saint, taking it
in his own hand, sharpened it to a point like a stake, and,
blessing it, gave it back to the destitute man, saying, " Preserve
this stake with great care, and it, I believe, will never hurt
men or cattle, but only wild beasts and fishes; and as long as
thou preservest this stake thou shalt never be without abund
ance of venison in thy house."
The wretched beggar upon hearing this was greatly delighted,
and returning home, fixed the stake in a remote place which
was frequented by the wild beasts of the forest ; and when that
next night was past, he went at early morning dawn to see the
stake, and found a stag of great size that had fallen upon it and
been transfixed by it. Why should I mention more instances ?
Not a day could pass, so the tradition goes, in which he did not
find a stag or hind or some other wild beast fixed upon the
stake ; and his whole house being thus filled with the flesh of
the wild beasts, he sold to his neighbours all that remained
after his own family was supplied. But, as in the case of
Adam, the envy of the devil also found out this miserable man
also through his wife, who, not as a prudent matron, but rather
like one infatuated, thus spoke to her husband : " Eemove the
stake out of the earth, for if men, or cattle, perish on it, then
thou and I and our children shall be put to death, or led into
captivity." To these words her husband replied, " It will not
be so, for when the holy man blessed the stake he said it would
never injure men or cattle." Still the miserable man, after
saying this, yielded to his wife, and taking the stake out of the
earth, like a man deprived of his reason, brought it into the
house and placed it against the wall. Soon after his house-dog
64 THE LIFE OF SAINT COLUMBA. BOOK II.
fell upon it and was killed, and on its death his wife said to
him, " One of thy children will fall upon it and be killed." At
these words of his wife he removed the stake out of the house,
and having carried it to a forest, placed it in the thickest brush
wood, where, as he thought, no animal could be hurt by it ; but
upon his return the following day he found a roe had fallen
upon it and perished. He then took it away and concealed it
by thrusting it under the water in the edge of the river, which
may be called in Latin Mgra Dea (not identified). On returning
the next day he found transfixed, and still held by it, a salmon
of extraordinary size, which he was scarcely able by himself to
take from the river and carry home. At the same time, he
took the stake again back with him from the water, and placed
it outside on the top of his house, where a crow having soon
after lighted, was instantly killed by the force of the fall.
Upon this the miserable man, yielding again to the advice of
his foolish wife, took down the stake from the house-top, and
taking an axe cut it in many pieces, and threw them into the fire.
Having thus deprived himself of this effectual means of alle
viating his distress, he was again, as he deserved to be, reduced
to beggary. This freedom from want was owing to the stake,
so frequently mentioned above, which the blessed man had
blest and given him, and which, so long as it was kept, could
suffice for snares and nets, and every kind of fishing and
hunting ; but when the stake was lost, the wretched peasant,
though he had been enriched for the time, could only, when too
late, lament over it with his whole family all the rest of his
life.
CHAPTEK XXXIX.
Concerning a Leathern Vessel for holding milk which was carried
from its place "by the ebb, and brought back again by the
return of the tide.
ON another occasion, when the blessed man's messenger, who
was named Lugaid, and surnamed Laitir, was at his command
making preparations for a voyage to Scotia (Ireland), he searched
for and found amongst the sea-going^ articles that belonged to
the saint's ship a leathern vessel for holding milk. This vessel he
immersed in the sea in order to moisten it, and put upon it stones
of considerable size. He then went to the saint, and told him
what he had done with the leathern bottle. The saint smiled
and said, " I do not think that this vessel, which thou sayest
thou hast sunk under the waves, will accompany thee to Hibernia
THE LIFE OF SAINT COLUMBA. BOOK II. 65
on the present occasion." " Why," rejoined Lugaid, " can I not
take it with me in the ship ? " The saint replied, " Thou shalt
learn the reason to-morrow, as the event will prove."
On the following morning, therefore, Lugaid went to take the
vessel out of the sea, but the ebb of the tide had carried it away
during the night. When he could not find it, he returned in
grief to the saint, and on his bended knees on the ground con
fessed his negligence. St. Columba consoled him, saying, " My
brother, grieve not for perishable things. The vessel which
the ebbing tide has carried away the returning tide will, after
your departure, bring back to the spot where thou didst place
it." At the ninth hour of the same day, soon after the de
parture of Lugaid from the louan island (Hy, now lona), the
saint addressed those who stood near him, and said, " Let one
of you now go to the sea, for the leathern vessel for which
Lugaid was lamenting, when it was carried away by the ebbing
tide, hath been brought back by the returning tide, and is to
be found at the place from which it was taken." Upon hearing
these words spoken by the saint, a certain active youth ran to
the sea- shore, where he found the vessel, as the saint had pre
dicted. He immediately took it out of the water, and with
great joy hastened back at full speed to the holy man, into
whose hands he delivered it, amid the great admiration of all
the beholders.
In the two miracles which we have just recorded, and which
regard such common and trifling things as a wooden stake and
a leathern vessel, there may, nevertheless, be observed, as we
noticed before, the gift of prophecy united with the power of
working miracles.
Let us now proceed with our narrative regarding other things.
CHAPTER XL.
The Saint's prophecy regarding Libran, of the Hush-ground.
AT another time, while the saint was living in the louan
island (Hy, now lona), a certain man of humble birth, who
had lately assumed the clerical habit, sailed over from Scotia
(Ireland), and came to the blessed man's monastery on the
island. The saint found him one day sitting alone in the
lodging provided for strangers, and inquired first about his
country, family, and the object of his journey. He replied that
he was born in the region of the Connacht men (Connaught),
and that he had undertaken that long and weary journey to
E
66 THE LIFE OF SAINT COLUMBA. BOOK II.
atone for his sins by the pilgrimage. In order to test the depth
of his repentance, the saint then laid down minutely before his
eyes the hardship and labour attending the monastic exercises.
" I am prepared," he replied at once to the saint, " to do every
thing whatever thou dost bid me, however hard and however
humiliating." Why add more ? That same hour he confessed
all his sins, and promised, kneeling on the ground, to fulfil the
laws of penance. The saint said to him, " Arise and take a seat."
Then he thus addressed him as he sat, " Thou must do penance
for seven years in the Ethican land (Tiree) ; thou and I, with
God's blessing, shall survive that period of seven years/' Being
comforted by the saint's words, he first gave thanks to God, and
turning afterwards to the saint, asked, " What am I to do with
regard to an oath which I have violated ? for while living in my
own country I murdered a certain man, and afterwards, as guilty
of murdering him, I was confined in prison. But a certain very
wealthy blood-relation came to my aid, and promptly loosing
me from my prison-chains, rescued me from the death to which
I was condemned. When I was released, I bound myself by
oath to serve that friend all the days of my life ; but I had
remained only a short time in his service, when I felt ashamed
of. serving man, and very much preferred to devote myself to
God. I therefore left that earthly master, broke the oath, and
departing, reached thee safely, God prospering my journey thus
far." The saint, on seeing him very much grieved over such
things, and first prophesying with respect to him, thus made
answer, saying, " At the end of seven years, as I said to thee,
thou shalt come to me here during the forty days of Lent, and
thou shalt approach the altar and partake of the Eucharist at
the great Paschal festival." Why hang longer over words ?
The penitent stranger in every respect obeyed the saint's com
mands ; and being sent at that time to the monastery of the
Plain of Lunge (Magh Lunge, in Tiree), and having fully com
pleted his seven years' penance there, returned to him during
Lent, according to the previous command and prophecy. After
celebrating the Paschal solemnity, and coming at that time to
the altar as directed, he came again to the saint to consult him
on the above-mentioned oath. Then the saint gave this prophetic
answer to his inquiry, " That earthly master of thine of whom
thou hast formerly spoken is still living ; so are thy father, thy
mother, and thy brethren. Thou must now, therefore, prepare
thyself for the voyage." And while speaking, he drew forth a
sword ornamented with carved ivory, and said, " Take this gift
to carry with thee, and offer it to thy master as the price of
thy ransom ; but when thou dost, he will on no account accept
THE LIFE OF SAINT COLUMBA. BOOK II. C7
it, for he has a virtuous, kindly-disposed wife, and by the
influence of her wholesome counsel he shall that very day,
without recompense or ransom, set thee free, unbinding the
girdle round thy captive loins. But though thus relieved from
this anxiety, thou shalt not escape a source of disquietude
arising on another hand, for thy brethren will come round and
press thee to make good the support due to thy father for so
long a time which thou hast neglected. Comply thou at once
with their wish, and take in hand dutifully to cherish thine
aged father. Though the duty may, indeed, seem weighty,
thou must not be grieved thereat, because thou shalt soon be
relieved of it ; for from the day on which thou shalt take
charge of thy father, the end of that same week shall see his
death and burial. But after thy father's burial thy brethren
will a second time come and sharply demand of thee that thou
pay the expenses due for thy mother. However, thy younger
brother will assuredly set thee free from this necessity by
engaging to perform in thy stead every duty or obligation
which thou owest to thy mother."
Having heard these words, the above-mentioned brother,
whose name was Libran, received the gift, and set out enriched
with the saint's blessing. When he reached his native country,
he found everything exactly as prophesied by the saint. For
when he showed and made offer of the price of his freedom to
his master, his wife opposed his wish to accept it, saying,
"What need have we to accept this ransom sent by St.
Columba ? We are not even worthy of such a favour. Eelease
this dutiful servant without payment. The prayers of the
holy man will profit us more than this price which is offered
us." The husband, therefore, listening to his wife's wholesome
counsel, set the slave free at once without ransom. He was
afterwards, according to the saint's prophecy, compelled by his
brethren to undertake the providing for his father, and he
buried him at his death on the seventh day. After his burial
they required him to discharge the same duty to his mother ;
but a younger brother, as the saint foretold, engaged to supply
his place, and thus released him from the obligation. "We
ought not on any account," said he to his brethren, " detain this
our brother at home, who, for the salvation of his soul, has
spent seven years in penitential exercises with St. Columba in
Britain."
After being thus released from the matters which gave him
annoyance, he bade farewell to his mother and brothers, and
returned a free man to a place called in the Scotic tongue Daire
Calgaich (Derry). There he found a ship iinder sail just leaving
08 THE LIFE OF SAINT COLUMBA. BOOK II.
the harbour, and he called to the sailors to take him on board
and convey him to Britain. But they, not being the monks of
St. Columba, refused to receive him. He then prayed to the
venerable man, who, though far distant, indeed, in body, yet
was present in spirit, as the event soon proved, saying, " Is it
thy will, holy Columba, that these sailors, who do not receive
me, thy companion, proceed upon their voyage with full sails
and favourable winds ? "
At this saying the wind, which till then was favourable for
them, veered round on the instant to the opposite point. While
this was taking place, the sailors saw again the same man
running in a line with them along the bank of the river, and,
hastily taking counsel together, they cried out to him from the
ship, saying, " Perhaps the wind hath suddenly turned against
us, for this reason, that we refused to give thee a passage ; but
if even now we were to invite thee to be with us on board,
couldst thou change these contrary winds to be in our favour ? "
When the pilgrim heard this, he said to them, " St. Columba,
to whom I am going, and whom I have served for the last seven
years, is able by prayer, if you take me on board, to obtain a
favourable wind for you from his Lord." They then, on hearing
this, approached the land with their ship, and asked him to
join them in it. As soon as he came on board, he said, " In the
name of the Almighty God, whom St. Columba blamelessly
serveth, spread your sails on the extended yards/' And when
they had done so, the gale of contrary winds immediately
became favourable, and the vessel made a prosperous voyage
under full sail to Britain. After reaching the shores of Britain,
Libran left the ship, blessed the sailors, and went directly to St.
Columba, who was staying in the louan island (Hy, now lona).
The blessed man welcomed him with joy, and, without receiving
the information from any one, told him fully of everything that
happened on his way — of his master and the wife's kindly
suggestion, and of his being set free by her advice ; of his
brethren also, and the death and burial of his father within the
week ; of his mother, and the timely assistance of the younger
brother ; of what occurred as he was returning, the adverse and
favourable winds ; of the words of the sailors when first they
refused to take him in; of the promise of fair wind, and of
the favourable change when they took him on board their
vessel. Why need I add more ? Every particular the saint
foretold he now described after it was exactly fulfilled.
After these words, the traveller gave back to the saint the
price of his ransom which he had received from him ; and at
the same time the saint addressed him in these words : " Inas-
THE LIFE OF SAINT COLUMBA. BOOK II. 69
much as thou art free, thou shalt be called Libran." Libran
took at the same period the monastic vows with much fervour.
And when he was being sent back again by the holy man to the
monastery where he had formerly served the Lord during the
seven years of penance, he received in farewell the following
prophetic announcement regarding himself : — " Thou shalt live
yet a long time, and end this present life in a good old age ; yet
thou shalt not arise from the dead in Britain, but in Scotia
(Ireland)." Hearing these words, he knelt down and wept bitterly.
When the saint saw his great grief he tried to comfort him,
saying, " Arise, and be not sad. Thou shalt die in one of my
monasteries, and thy lot shall be among my chosen monks in
the kingdom ; and with them thou shalt awake from the sleep
of death unto the resurrection of life." When he heard this
unusual consolation from the saint he rejoiced exceedingly, and,
being enriched by the saint's blessing, went away in peace.
This truthful prophecy of the saint regarding the same man
was afterwards fulfilled ; for when he had faithfully served the
Lord for many revolving years of holy obedience in the monastery
of the Plain of Lunge (Magh Lunge, in Tiree), after the departure
of St. Columba from the world, he was sent, in extreme old age,
on a mission to Scotia regarding the interests of the monastery,
and proceeded as soon as he landed through the Plain of Breg
(Maghbreg, in Meath), till he reached the monastery of the Oak-
wood Plain (Derry). Being there received as a stranger in the
guest-chamber, and suffering from a certain disease, he passed
to the Lord in peace on the seventh day of his illness, and was
buried with the chosen monks of St. Columba, according to his
prophecy, to await the resurrection unto eternal life.
Let it suffice that we have written these truthful prophecies
of St. Columba regarding Libran of the Eush-ground. He was
called " of the Rush-ground " from his having been engaged
many years in the labour of collecting rushes.
CHAPTER XLL
Concerning a certain little Woman who, as a daughter of Eve,
was enduring tJie great and extremely dangerous pains of
Childbirth.
ON a certain day during the saint's stay in the louan island
(Hy, now lona), the saint arose from reading, and said with a
smile, " I must now hasten to the oratory to pray to the Lord
on behalf of a poor woman in Hibernia, who at this moment is
70 THE LIFE OF SAINT COLUMBA. BOOK II.
suffering the pangs of a most difficult childbirth, and is calling
upon the name of Columba. She trusteth that God will grant
her relief from her sufferings through my prayers, because she
is a relation of mine, being lineally descended from the house of
my mother's parentage."
Having said this, the saint, being touched with pity for the
poor woman, hastened to the church, and, on his bended knees,
earnestly prayed for her to Christ, who was Himself by birth
a partaker of humanity. Eeturning from the church after his
prayer, he said to the brethren who met him, " The Lord Jesus,
born of a woman, hath given seasonable help to this poor
woman, and hath mercifully relieved her from her distress.
She hath been safely delivered of a child, nor shall she die
upon this occasion/' That same hour, as the saint had pre
dicted, the poor woman, by invoking his name, was safely
delivered, and restored to perfect health, as we afterwards
learned from travellers who came to us from that part of Scotia
(Ireland) where the woman resided.
CHAPTEE XLII.
Of one Imgne, surnamed Tuclida, a Pilot, who lived on the Rech-
rean island (either Rathlin or Lamlay), and whom, as being
deformed, his wife hated.
ANOTHER time, when the saint was living on the Eechrean
island, a certain man of humble birth came to him and com
plained of his wife, who, as he said, so hated him, that she
would on no account allow him to come near her for marriage
rights. The saint on hearing this, sent for the wife, and, so far
as he could, began to reprove her on that account, saying :
" Why, 0 woman, dost thou endeavour to withdraw thy flesh
from thyself, while the Lord says, ' They shall be two in one
flesh ' ? Wherefore the flesh of thy husband is thy flesh." She
answered and said, " Whatever thou shalt require of me I am
ready to do, however hard it may be, with this single exception,
that thou dost not urge me in any way to sleep in one bed with
Lugne. I do not refuse to perform every duty at home, or, if
thou dost command me, even to pass over the seas, or to live in
some monastery for women." The saint then said, " What thou
dost propose cannot be lawfully done, for thou art bound by the
law of the husband as long as thy husband liveth, for it would
be impious to separate those whom God has lawfully joined to
gether." Immediately after these words he added : " This day
let us three, namely, the husband and his wife and myself, join
THE LIFE OF SAINT COLUMBA. BOOK II. 71
in prayer to the Lord and in fasting." But the woman replied :
" I know it is not impossible for thee to obtain from God, when
thou askest them, those things that seem to us either difficult, or
even impossible." It is unnecessary to say more. The husband
and wife agreed to fast with the saint that day, and the follow
ing night the saint spent sleepless in prayer for them. Next
day he thus addressed the wife in presence of her husband, and
said to her : " 0 woman, art thou still ready to-day, as thou saidst
yesterday, to go away to a convent of women ? " "I know
now," she answered, " that thy prayer to God for me hath been
heard ; for that man whom I hated yesterday, I love to-day ; for
my heart hath been changed last night in some unknown way —
from hatred to love." Why need we linger over it ? From that
day to the hour of death, the soul of the wife was firmly
cemented in affection to her husband, so that she no longer
refused those mutual matrimonial rights which she was formerly
unwilling to allow.
CHAPTEK XLIII.
The Prophecy of the blessed man regarding the Voyage of Cormac
the grandson of Lethan.
AT another time a soldier of Christ, named Cormac, about
whom we have related a few brief particulars in the first part of
this book, made even a second attempt to discover a desert in
the ocean. After he had gone far from the land over the
boundless ocean at full sail, St. Columba, who was then staying
beyond the Dorsal Eidge of Britain (Drumalban), recommended
him in the following terms to King Brude, in the presence of the
ruler of the Orcades (Orkneys) : " Some of our brethren have
lately set sail, and are anxious to discover a desert in the path
less sea ; should they happen, after many wanderings, to come
to the Orcadian islands, do thou carefully instruct this chief,
whose hostages are in thy hand, that no evil befall them within
his dominions." The saint took care to give this direction, be
cause he knew that after a few months Cormac would arrive at
the Orcades. So it afterwards came to pass, and to this advice
of the holy man Cormac owed his escape from impending death.
After the lapse of a few months, whilst the saint was remain
ing in the louan island (Hy, now lona), Cormac's name was
mentioned one day unexpectedly in his presence by some per
sons in conversation, who were observing that it was not yet
known whether the voyage of Cormac had been successful or
72 THE LIFE OF SAINT COLUMBA. BOOK II.
otherwise. Upon hearing this, the saint joined the conversa
tion and said : " You shall see Cormac, about whom you are
now speaking, arrive here to-day."
And after about an hour, wonderful to relate, lo ! Cormac
unexpectedly arrived, and proceeded to the oratory whilst all
expressed their admiration and gave thanks to God.
Having mentioned thus briefly the prediction of the blessed
man regarding Cormac's second voyage, we have now to relate
another equally remarkable instance of the holy man's prophetic
knowledge regarding his third voyage.
When Cormac was laboriously engaged in his third voyage
over the ocean, he was exposed to the most imminent danger
of death. For, when for fourteen days in summer, and as many
nights, his vessel sailed with full sails before a south wind, in a
straight course from land, into the northern regions, his voyage
seemed to be extended beyond the limits of human wanderings,
and return to be impossible.
Accordingly, after the tenth hour of the fourteenth day, cer
tain dangers of a most formidable and almost insurmountable
kind presented themselves. A multitude of loathsome and
annoying insects, such as had never been seen before, covered
the sea in swarms, and struck the keel and sides, the prow, and
stern of the vessel, so very violently, that it seemed as if they
would wholly penetrate the leathern covering of the ship. Ac
cording to the accounts afterwards given by those who were
there, they were about the size of frogs ; they could swim, but
were not able to fly ; their sting was extremely painful, and
they crowded upon the handles of the oars.
When Cormac and his fellow-voyagers had seen these and
other monsters, which it is not now our province to describe,
they were filled with fear and alarm, and, shedding copious
tears, they prayed to God, who is a kind and ready helper of
those who are in trouble. At that same hour our holy Columba,
although far away in body, was present in spirit with Cormac
in the ship. Accordingly he gave the signal, and calling the
brethren to the oratory, he entered the church, and addressing
those who were present, he uttered the following prophecy in
his usual manner : " Brethren, pray with all your usual fervour
for Cormac, who by sailing too far hath passed the bounds of
human enterprise, and is exposed at this moment to dreadful
alarm and fright, in the presence of monsters which were never
before seen, and are almost indescribable. We ought, therefore,
to sympathize with our brethren and associates who are in such
imminent danger, and to pray to the Lord with them ; behold
at this moment Cormac and his sailors are shedding copious
THE LIFE OF SAINT COLUMBA. BOOK II. 73
tears, and praying with intense fervency to Christ ; let us assist
them by our prayers, that God may take compassion upon us,
and cause the wind, which for the past fourteen days has blown
from the south, to blow from the north, and this north wind
will, of course, deliver Cormac's vessel out of all danger."
Having said this he knelt before the altar, and in a plaintive
voice poured forth his prayers to the almighty power of God,
who governeth the winds and all things. After having prayed he
arose quickly, and wiping away his tears, joyfully gave thanks
to God, saying, " Now, brethren, let us congratulate our dear
friends for whom we have been praying, for God will now change
the south into a north wind, which will free our associates from
their perils, and bring them to us here again." As he spoke
the south wind ceased, and a north wind blew for many days
after, so that Cormac's ship was enabled to gain the land. And
Cormac hastened to visit Columba, and in God's bounty they
looked on each other again face to face, to the extreme joy and
wonder of all. Let the reader, then, carefully consider how great
and of what a character the blessed man must have been, who
possessed such prophetic knowledge, and who, by invoking the
name of Christ, could rule the winds and the waves.
CHAPTEE XLIV.
How the venerable man made a Journey in a Chariot which was
not secured with the proper linch-pins.
AT another time, while the saint was spending a few days in
Scotia (Ireland), some ecclesiastical object required his presence,
and accordingly he ascended a yoked car which he had pre
viously blessed ; but from some unaccountable neglect the
requisite linch-pins were not inserted in the holes at the ex
tremities of the axles. The person who on this occasion per
formed the duty of driver in the carriage with St. Columba
was Columban, a holy man, the son of Echud, and founder of
that monastery which is called in the Scotic language Snam
luthir (now Slanore, in Granard, county of Longford). The dis
tance they rode that day was very long, and the jolting severe,
yet the wheels did not come off the axles nor even stir from their
proper places, although, as was mentioned before, there were no
linch-pins to secure them. But divine grace alone so favoured
the venerable man that the car in which he was safely seated
proceeded without being upset, or meeting any obstacle to retard
its progress.
74 THE LIFE OF SAINT COLUMBA. BOOK II.
Thus far we may have written enough regarding the miracles
which the divine omnipotence wrought through this remarkable
man while he lived ; we shall now mention also a few out of
many well- authenticated miracles which the Lord was pleased
to grant to him after his death.
CHAPTEE XLV.
Of the Eain which, after some months of drought, the Lord boun
tifully poured out upon the earth in honour of the blessed
man.
ABOUT fourteen years before the date at which we write,
there occurred during the spring a very great and long-continued
drought in these marshy regions, insomuch that the threat
denounced against sinners in the Book of Leviticus seemed to
impend over the people : " I will give to you the heaven above
as iron, and the earth as brass. Your labour shall be spent in
vain, the ground shall not bring forth her increase, nor the trees
their fruit," etc.
We therefore, reading these words, and fearing the impend
ing calamity, took counsel together, and resolved that some of
the senior members of the community should walk round a
newly ploughed and sowed field, taking with them the white
tunic of St. Columba, and some books written in his own hand,
that they should raise in the air, and shake three times the
tunic which the saint wore at the hour of his death ; and that
they then should open the books and read them on the little hill
of the angels (now called Sithean Mor), where the citizens of
the heavenly country were occasionally seen to descend at the
bidding of the blessed man. When these directions had been
executed in the manner prescribed, then, strange to relate, the
sky, which during the preceding months of March and April
had been cloudless, was suddenly covered with dense vapours
that arose from the sea with extraordinary rapidity; copious
rain fell day and night, and the parched earth being sufficiently
moistened, produced its fruits in good season, and yielded the
same year a most abundant harvest. And thus the invocation
of the very name of the blessed man, by the exhibition of his
tunic and books, obtained seasonable relief at the same time
for many places and much people.
THE LIFE OF SAINT COLUMBA. BOOK II.
CHAPTER XLVL
Of the unfavourable Winds which, through the intercession of our
Saint, were changed into propitious breezes.
OUK belief in the miracles which we have recorded, but which
we did not ourselves see, is confirmed beyond doubt by the
miracles of which we were eye-witnesses ; for on three different
occasions we saw unfavourable gales of wind changed unto pro
pitious breezes.
On the first occasion we had to draw over land long boats of
hewn pine and oak, and to bring home in the same way a large
quantity of materials for building ships. In order to obtain from
the Lord a favourable wind for our voyage, we took counsel and
put the books and garments of the blessed man upon the altar,
and at the same time fasted, chanted psalms, and invoked his
name. And this was granted to the holy man by God's favour,
for on the day that our sailors had made all their preparations,
and were ready to convey the wood for the purposes above
mentioned in curachs and skiffs, the wind, which for several
days before had been contrary, suddenly changed into favourable
breezes. They blew steadily the entire day, by God's blessing,
and enabled the whole fleet of boats to make their long and
dangerous passage to the louan island (Hy, now lona), with
safety and expedition.
On the second occasion, which was a few years after the one
just mentioned, our monastery was requiring repairs, and some
oak-trees were to be taken from near the mouth of the river
Sale (the Seil, in Lorn), in twelve vessels which we brought for
the purpose. Our sailors then rowed out to sea with their
oars, the day being calm and the sea tranquil, when suddenly
a westerly wind, which is also called Zephyr, sprang up, and
we betook ourselves to the nearest island, which is called in
Scotic Airthrago (probably Kerrera), to seek for shelter in a
harbour in it.
But in the meantime we began to complain of this unfavour
able change in the wind, and in some measure even to blame
our Columba, saying, " Doth our unfortunate detention in this
place please thee, 0 saint ? Hitherto we had hoped that we
might receive from thee some aid and comfort in our labours
through the divine favour, seeing we thought that thou wert
honoured and powerful in the sight of God."
No sooner had we thus spoken, than, wonderful to relate,
76 THE LIFE OF SAINT COLUMBA. BOOK II.
the unfavourable west wind ceased, and immediately, in the
course as it were of one minute, behold a most favourable
south-eastern breeze sprang up. The sailors were then directed
to raise the sail yards in the form of a cross, and spread the
sails upon them ; thus putting to sea with a steady and favour
able breeze, we were enabled, without the slightest fatigue, to
reach our island that same day, rejoicing in our cargo of wood,
and in the company of all who were engaged in assisting us in
the ships. Thus the chiding with the holy man, slight though
it was, in that complaint assisted us not a little ; and in what
and how great esteem the saint is held by the Lord is evident
from His hearing him so quickly and changing the winds.
Then the third instance was in the summer, after the cele
bration of a synod in Hibernia, when we were detained by
contrary winds for a few days among the people of the tribe of
Loern (Lorn), and had reached the Sainean island (Shuna).
There the vigil and the feast of St. Columba found us extremely
sad and disconsolate, because we wished to celebrate that joyous
day in the louan island (Hy, now lona). Accordingly, as on a
former occasion, we began to complain and to say, " Is it agree
able to thee, O saint, that we should spend to-morrow, thy
festival-day, among strangers, and not celebrate it in thine own
church ? It is easy for thee in the morning of such a day to
obtain from the Lord that the contrary winds may become
favourable, and that we may be able to celebrate the solemn
mass of thy birth in thine own church. On the following
morning we arose at daybreak, and seeing that the adverse
winds had ceased, we went on board our vessels and put to sea
in a profound calm, when, lo ! there suddenly sprung up a
south wind, which was most favourable for the voyage. The
sailors then joyously raised the sails, and on this occasion also
without any exertion on our part, so quick and so favourable
was our passage, owing to the mercy of God to the blessed
man, that we reached the landing-place of the louan island
(Hy, now lona), after the third hour, according to our previous
anxious desire. After washing our hands and feet we entered
the church at the sixth hour in company with our brethren,
and celebrated at once the holy services of the mass of St.
Columba and St. Baithene, whose festivals occurred on that
day, at the daybreak of which, as we said above, we started
from the distant Sainean island (Shuna).
And as to the truth of this story I have now related, there
are yet living, not merely one or two witnesses as the law
requires, but hundreds and more who can bear testimony.
THE LIFE OF SAINT COLUMBA. BOOK II. 77
CHAPTEE XLVII.
Concerning the Plague.
WHAT we are about to relate concerning the plague, which
in our own time twice visited the greater part of the world,
deserves, I think, to be reckoned among not the least of the
miracles of St. Columba. For, not to mention the other and
greater countries of Europe, including Italy, the Eoman States,
and the Cisalpine provinces of Gaul, with the States of Spain
also, which lie beyond the Pyrenees, these islands of the sea,
Scotia (Ireland) and Britain, have twice been ravaged by a
dreadful pestilence throughout their whole extent, except among
the two tribes, the Picts and Scots of Britain, who are separated
from each other by the Dorsal mountains of Britain. And
although neither of these nations was free from those grievous
crimes which generally provoke the anger of the eternal Judge,
yet both have been hitherto patiently borne with and mercifully
spared. Now, to what other person can this favour granted
them by God be attributed unless to St. Columba, whose
monasteries lie within the territories of both these people, and
have been regarded by both with the greatest respect up to the
present time ? But what I am now to say cannot, I think, be
heard without a sigh, that there are many very stupid people
in both countries who, in their ignorance that they owe their
exemption from the plague to the prayers of the saint, ungrate
fully and wickedly abuse the patience and the goodness of
God. But I often return my most grateful thanks to God
for having, through the intercession of our holy patron, pre
served me and those in our islands from the ravages of the
pestilence ; and that in Saxonia also, when I went to visit my
friend King Aldfrid, where the plague was raging and laying
waste many of his villages, yet both in its first attack, imme
diately after the war of Ecfridus, and in its second, two years
subsequently, the Lord mercifully saved me from danger,
though I was living and moving about in the very midst of
the plague. The Divine mercy was also extended to my com
panions, not one of whom died of the plague, or was attacked
with any other disease.
Here must end the second Book recording the miracles, and
it is right for me to draw attention to the fact, that many well-
authenticated miracles have been omitted in order not to fatigue
the reader.
Here endeth the Second Book.
BOOK III.
HERE BEGINNETH THE THIRD BOOK.
OF THE VISIONS OF ANGELS.
CHAPTEE I.
IN the first of these three little Books we have, under the
guidance of God, shortly and concisely related, as was observed
before, some of the prophetic revelations. In the second we have
recorded the powerful miracles the blessed man wrought, which,
as we have often observed, were generally accompanied with
the gift of prophecy. But in this third Book, which treateth
of the Apparitions of Angels, we shall relate those which either
our saint received regarding others, or others saw regarding
him ; we shall also describe some which were manifested to
both parties, though in different measure, that is, to the saint
himself, specially and clearly, but to the others improperly and
partially, or, in other words, externally and tentatively, yet in
the same visions either of angels, or of heavenly light. What
ever discrepancies however in any case may at first sight seem
to occur in those visions, will be completely removed as we
proceed to relate them in their proper places. But now we
must begin at the very birth of the blessed man, and relate
these angelic manifestations.
CHAPTER II.
ON a certain night between the conception and birth of the
venerable man, an angel of the Lord appeared to his mother in
dreams, bringing to her, as he stood by her, a certain robe of
THE LIFE OF SAINT COLUMBA. BOOK III.
extraordinary beauty, in which the most beautiful colours, as it
were, of all the flowers seemed to be portrayed. After a short
time he asked it back, and took it out of her hands, and having
raised it and spread it out, he let it fly through the air. But
she being sad at the loss of it, said to that man of venerable
aspect, " Why dost thou take this lovely cloak away from me
so soon ?" He immediately replied, " Because thisjjiantleisjp
exceedingly honourable that thou canst not retain it longer with
thee." When this was said, the woman saw that the fore-men
tioned robe was gradually receding from her in its flight ; and
that then it expanded until its width exceeded the plains, and in
all its measurements was larger than the mountains and forests.
Then she heard the following words : " Woman, do not grieve,
for to the man to whom thou hast been joined by the marriage
bond, thou shalt bring forth a son, of so beautiful a character, that
he shall be reckoned among his own people as one of the pro
phets of God, and hath been predestined by God to be the leader
of innumerable souls to the heavenly country." At these words
the woman awoke from her sleep.
CHAPTER III.
Of the Ray of Light which was seen upon the loy'sface as
he lay asleep.
ON another night, Cruithnecan, a priest of blameless life, to
whose care the blessed youth was confided, upon returning home
from the clmrch after mass, found his house illuminated with a
brighJLiight^ancL saw in fact a ball of fire standing over the
face of_theJlittle boy as he lay asleep. At the sight he at once
shook with fear, and fell down with his face to the ground in
great amazement, well knowing that it indicated the grace of
the Holy Spirit poured out from heaven upon his young
charge.
CHAPTER IV.
Of the Apparition of Holy Angels whom St. Brenden saw
accompanying the blessed man through the plain.
FOR indeed after the lapse of many years, when St.
some
as it
»»w» VAAV^ .lUiLJOVs wi. JlldXJ. V Y V./Cvi.O« Wilv/i-
Columba was excommunicated by a certain synod for some
pardonable and very trifling reasons, and indeed unjustly,
80 THE LIFE OF SAINT COLUMBA. BOOK III.
afterwards appeared at the end, he came to the same meeting
convened against himself. When St. Brenden, the founder of
the monastery which in the Scotic language is called Birra (Birr,
in King's County), saw him approaching in the distance, he
quickly arose, and with head bowed down reverently kissed him.
When some of the seniors in that assembly, going apart from the
rest, were finding fault with him, and saying : " Why didst thou
not decline to rise in presence of an excommunicated person, and
to kiss him ?" he replied to them in this wise : " If," said he,
" you had seen what the Lord has this day thought fit to show
to me regarding this his chosen one, whom you dishonour, you
would never have excommunicated a person whom God not only
doth not excommunicate, according to your unjust sentence, but
even more and more highly esteemeth." " How, we would wish to
know," said they in reply, " doth God exalt, as thou sayest, on-}
whom we have excommunicated, not without reason ? " "I
have seen," said Brenden, " a most brilliant pillar wreathed with
fiery tresses preceding this same man of God whom you treat
with contempt ; I have also seen holy angels accompanying him
on his journey through the plain. Therefore I do not dare to
slight him whom I see foreordained by God to be the leader of
his people to life." When he said this, they desisted, and so far
from daring to hold the saint any longer excommunicated, they
even treated him with the greatest respect and reverence. This
took place in Teilte (Taillte, now Teltown, in Meath).
CHAPTER V.
Of the Angel of the Lord which St. Finnio saw accompanying
the blessed man in his journey.
ON another occasion the holy man went to the venerable
Bishop Finnio, who had formerly been his preceptor, — the youth
to visit the man far advanced in years. When St. Finnio saw
him coming to him, he observed also an angel of the Lord
accompanying him, as he proceeded, and as it is handed down
to us by well-informed persons, he made it known to certain
brethren who were standing by, saying to them : " Behold, look
now to Columba as he draweth near; he hath been deemed
worthy of having an angelic inhabitant of heaven to be his
companion in his wanderings." About that same time the
holy man, with his twelve disciples and fellow-soldiers, sailed
across to Britain.
THE LIFE OF SAINT COLUMUA. BOOK III. 83
CHAPTER VIII.
Concerning the Vision of Any els vouchsafed the same holy man
when they were "bearing to heaven the soul of one named
Diormit.
AT another time a stranger from Hibernia came to the saint
and remained with him for some months in the louan island
(Hy, now lona). The blessed man one day said to him : " One
of the clerics of thy province, whose name I do not yet know,
is being carried to heaven by the angels at this moment."
Then the brother, upon hearing this, began to search within
himself regarding the province of the Anterii (Airthir), which
is called in Scotic Indairthir (East Oriel, in Ulster), and also
about the name of that blessed man, and in due course thus
expressed himself, saying : " I know a soldier of Jesus Christ,
named Diormit, who built a small monastery in the same
district where I dwelt." The saint said to him, " He of whom
thou speakest is the very person who hath been carried into
Paradise by the angels of God."
But this fact must be very carefully noted, that our venerable
man was most careful to conceal from the knowledge of men
many mysterious secrets which were concealed from others, but
revealed to him by God, and this he did for two reasons, as he
one day hinted to a few of the brethren ; first, that he might
avoid vain-glory, and secondly that he might not, by the fame
of his revelations being spread abroad, attract, to make inquiries
at him, innumerable crowds who were anxious to ask some
questions regarding themselves.
CHAPTER IX.
Of the brave fight of the Angels against the Demons, and how they
opportunely assisted the Saint in the same conflict.
ON another day while the holy man was living in the louan
island (Hy, now lona), he went to seek in the woods for a
place more remote from men and fitting for prayer. And there
when he began to pray, he suddenly beheld, as he afterwards
told a few of the brethren, a very black host of demons fighting
against him with iron darts. These wicked demons wished, as
the Holy Spirit revealed to the saint, to attack his monastery
and kill with the same spears many of the brethren. But he,
82 THE LIFE OF SAINT COLUMBA. BOOK III.
Hibernia, the scourge which I suffered on thy account from
the angel shall bring great disgrace upon them by the hand of
God, and the hearts of men shall be turned away from them,
and their foes shall be greatly strengthened against them."
Now this prophecy hath been fulfilled in our own times in the
battle of Roth (Magh Rath, fought 637), in which Domnall
Brecc, the grandson of Aidan, ravaged without the slightest
provocation the territory of Domnall, the grandson of Ain-
muireg. And from that day to this they have been trodden
down by strangers — a fate which pierces the heart with sighs
and grief.
CHAPTER VII.
Of the Apparition of Angels carrying to heaven the soul of
the blessed Brito.
AT another time while the holy man was tarrying in the
louan island (Hy, now lona), one of his monks called Brito,
a person given to all good works, being seized with bodily ill
ness, was reduced to the last extremity. When the venerable
man went to visit him at the hour of his departure, he stood
for a few moments at his bedside, and after giving him his
blessing, retired quickly from the house, not wishing to see
him die, and the very moment after the holy man left the
house the monk closed this present life.
Then the eminent man walking in the little court of his
monastery, with his eyes upraised to heaven, was for a long
time lost in wonder and admiration. But a certain brother
named Aidan, the son of Libir, a truly virtuous and religious
man, who was the only one of the brethren present at the time,
fell upon his knees and asked the saint to tell him the reason
of so great astonishment. The saint said to him in reply : " I
have this moment seen the holy angels contending in the air
against the hostile powers ; and I return thanks to Christ, the
Judge, because the victorious angels have carried off to the joys
of our heavenly country the soul of this stranger, who is the
first person that hath died among us in this island. But I
beseech thee not to reveal this secret to any one during my
life."
THE LIFE OF SAINT COLUMBA. BOOK III. 83
CHAPTER VIII.
Concerning the Vision of Angels vouchsafed the same holy man
when they were bearing to heaven the soul of one named
Diormit.
AT another time a stranger from Hibernia came to the saint
and remained with him for some months in the louan island
(Hy, now lona). The blessed man one day said to him : " One
of the clerics of thy province, whose name I do not yet know,
is being carried to heaven by the angels at this moment."
Then the brother, upon hearing this, began to search within
himself regarding the province of the Anterii (Airthir), which
is called in Scotic Indairthir (East Oriel, in Ulster), and also
about the name of that blessed man, and in due course thus
expressed himself, saying : " I know a soldier of Jesus Christ,
named Diormit, who built a small monastery in the same
district where I dwelt." The saint said to him, " He of whom
thou speakest is the very person who hath been carried into
Paradise by the angels of God."
But this fact must be very carefully noted, that our venerable
man was most careful to conceal from the knowledge of men
many mysterious secrets which were concealed from others, but
revealed to him by God, and this he did for two reasons, as he
one day hinted to a few of the brethren ; first, that he might
avoid vain-glory, and secondly that he might not, by the fame
of his revelations being spread abroad, attract, to make inquiries
at him, innumerable crowds who were anxious to ask some
questions regarding themselves.
CHAPTER IX.
Of the brave fight of the Angels against the Demons, and how they
opportunely assisted the Saint in the same conflict.
ON another day while the holy man was living in the louan
island (Hy, now lona), he went to seek in the woods for a
place more remote from men and fitting for prayer. And there
when he began to pray, he suddenly beheld, as he afterwards
told a few of the brethren, a very black host of demons fighting
against him with iron darts. These wicked demons wished, as
the Holy Spirit revealed to the saint, to attack his monastery
and kill with the same spears many of the brethren. But he,
84 THE LIFE OF SAIXT COLUMBA. BOOK III.
single-handed, against innumerable foes of such a nature, fought
with the utmost bravery, having received the armour of the
apostle Paul. And thus the contest was maintained on both
sides during the greater part of the day, nor could the demons,
countless though they were, vanquish him, nor was he able, by
himself, to drive them from his island, until the angels of God,
as the saint afterwards told certain persons, and they few in
number, came to his aid, when the demons in terror gave way.
On the same day, when the saint was returning to his mon
astery, after he had driven the devils from his island, he spoke
these words concerning the same hostile legions, saying, " Those
deadly foes, who this day, through the mercy of God and the
assistance of his angels, have been put to flight from this
small track of land, have fled to the Ethican land (Tiree), and
there as savage invaders they will attack the monasteries of
the brethren, and cause pestilential diseases, of which many
will be grievously ill and die." All this came to pass in those
days, as the blessed man had foreseen. And two days after he
thus spake from the revelation of the Holy Ghost, " Baithen
hath managed wisely, with God's help, that the congregation of
the church over which he hath been appointed by God to pre
side, in the plain of Lunge (Magh Lunge, in Tiree), should be
defended by fasts and prayers against the attacks of the demons,
and but one person shall die on this occasion." The whole took
place as was foretold ; for whilst many in the other monasteries
of the same island fell victims to that disease, none except the
one of whom the saint spoke died in the congregation which
was under the charge of Baithen. *
CHAPTEE X.
Of the Apparition of Angels whom the man of God saw carrying
to heaven the soul of a blacksmith, named Columb, and sur-
named Coilrigin.
A CERTAIN blacksmith, greatly devoted to works of charity,
and full of other good works, dwelt in the midland districts of
Scotia (Ireland). When the forementioned Columb, surnamed
Coilrigin, was dying in a good old age, even at that very mo
ment when he departed from the body, St. Columba, who was
then in the louan island (Hy, now lona), thus addressed a few
of the senior brethren who were standing around him, " Columb
Coilrigin, the blacksmith, hath not laboured in vain, seeing that
he hath had the happiness, as he desired, to purchase the
THE LIFE OF SAINT COLUMBA. BOOK III. 85
eternal rewards by the labour of his hands. For, behold, at
this moment, his soul is carried by the holy angels to the joys
of the heavenly country, because he laid out all that he could
earn by his trade in alms to the poor."
CHAPTER XL
Of a similar Vision of Angels whom the blessed man beheld carry
ing to heaven the soul of a certain virtuous woman.
IN like manner, on another occasion, whilst the holy man
was living in the louan island (Hy, now lona),7 he one day
suddenly raised his eyes to heaven and uttered the words, " 0
happy woman — happy because of thy virtues ; the angels of
God are now carrying thy soul to paradise." Now these words
from the mouth of the saint wrere heard by a certain religious
brother, a Saxon, by name Genere, who was at the moment
working at his trade, which was that of a baker. And on the
same day of the month, at the end of the same year, the saint
addressed the same Genere the Saxon, and said, " I see a won
derful thing ; behold, the woman of whom I spake in thy pre
sence last year, now meeteth in the air the soul of her husband,
a poor and holy man, and together with the holy angels en-
gageth in a contest for it against the adverse powers ; by their
united assistance, and by the aid of the virtuous character of
the man himself, his soul is rescued from the assaults of the
demons, and brought to the place of eternal refreshment.
CHAPTER XII.
Of the Apparition of Holy Angels whom St. Columba beheld
meeting in its passage the soul of St. Brenden, the founder
of the monastery which in Scotic is called Birra (Birr, in
King's County).
ON another day also, while the venerable man was residing
in the louan island (Hy, now lona), he called very early in the
morning for his attendant, Diormit, so frequently mentioned
before, and commanded him, saying, " Make ready in haste for
the celebration of the Holy Eucharist, for to-day is the birthday
of blessed Brenden." " Wherefore," said his attendant, " dost
thou order such solemnities of the Mass to be prepared to-day ?
For no messenger hath come to us from Scotia (Ireland) to tell
86 THE LIFE OF SAINT COLUMBA. BOOK III.
us of the death of that holy man." " Go," said the saint, " it is
thy duty to obey my commands. For this last night I saw the
heavens suddenly open, and choirs of angels descend to meet
the soul of the holy Brenden ; and so great and incomparable
was the brightness, that in that same hour it illuminated the
whole world."
CHAPTER XIII.
Of ike Vision of Holy Angels who carried off to heaven the soul of
the Bishop, St. Columban Mocu Loigse.
ON another day also, while the brethren were putting on their
sandals in the morning, and were making ready to go to their
different duties in the monastery, the saint, on the contrary,
bade them rest that day and prepare for the holy sacrifice,
ordering also some addition to be made to their dinner, as on
the Lord's day. " I must," said he, " though unworthy, cele
brate to-day the holy mysteries of the Eucharist, out of venera
tion to that soul which this last night went up to paradise,
beyond the region of the stars in the heavens, borne thither
amid the holy choirs of the angels."
At these words the brethren obeyed, and, according to his
directions, rested that day; then, after preparing for the due
celebration of the sacred rite, they accompanied the saint to the
church in their white robes as on a festival. Bat it came to
pass that when in the course of chanting the offices, the prayer
was being sung as usual in which St. Martin's name is com
memorated, the saint, suddenly turning to the chanters, when
they had come to make mention of that name, said, " You must
pray to-day for St. Columban, bishop." Then all the brethren
present understood that Columban, a bishop in Leinster, the
dear friend of Columba, had passed to the Lord. A short time
after, some persons, who came from the province of Leinster,
told how the bishop died in the very night in which it was thus
made known to the saint.-
CHAPTER XIV.
Of the Apparition of Angels who had come down to meet the
souls of the monks of St. Comgell.
AT another time, when the venerable man was living in the
louan island (Hy, now lona), he became suddenly excited, and
THE LIFE OF SAINT COLUMBA. BOOK III. 87
summoned the brethren together by the sound of the bell.
" Now" said he, " let us help by our prayers the monks of the
Abbot Comgell, who are just now in danger of being drowned
in the Lake of the Calf (Loch Laodh, now Belfast Lough) ; for,
lo ! at this moment they are fighting against the hostile powers
in the air, and are striving to rescue the soul of some stranger
who is also drowning along with them." Then after having
wept and prayed fervently, he hastily stood erect before the
altar with a joyful countenance, whilst the brethren continued
to lie prostrate in prayer. " Give thanks," he said, " to Christ,
for now the holy angels, coming to the aid of holy souls, have
rescued this stranger from the attacks of the demons, and borne
him off in triumph like victorious warriors."
CHAPTEE XV.
Of the Manifestation of the Angels who came to meet the soul
of one Emchafh.
AT another time, when the saint was travelling beyond the
Dorsal Eidge of Britain (Drumalban), near the lake of the
river Nesa (Loch Ness), he was suddenly inspired by the Holy
Ghost, and said to the brethren that accompanied him, " Let us
go quickly to meet the holy angels, who have been sent from
the realms of the highest heaven to carry away with them the
soul of a heathen, and now wait our arrival there, that we
may baptize in due time before his death this man, who hath
preserved his natural goodness through all his life, even to
extreme old age." And having said this much, the holy old
man hurried his companions as much as he could, and walked
before them until he came to a district called Airchart-dan
(Arochdan, now Glen Urquhart) ; and there he found an aged
man whose name was Emchat, who, on hearing the word of God
preached by the saint, believed and was baptized, and imme
diately after, full of joy, and safe from evil, and accompanied
by the angels, who came to meet him, passed to the Lord.
His son Virolec also believed, and was baptized with all
his house.
88 THE LIFE OF SAINT COLUMBA. BOOK III.
CHAPTEK XVI.
Of the Angel of the Lord that came so quickly and opportunely
to the relief of the brother who fell from the top of the round
monastery in the OaTcwood Plain (Berry).
AT another time, while the holy man sat in his little cell
engaged in writing, on a sudden his countenance changed, and
he poured forth this cry from his pure breast, saying, " Help !
help ! " Two of the brothers who stood at the door, namely,
Colga, son of Cellach, and Lugne Mocublai, asked the cause of
such a sudden cry. The venerable man answered, saying, " I
ordered the angel of the Lord who was just now standing among
you to go quickly to the relief of one of the brothers who is
falling from the highest point of a large house which is now
being built in the Oakwood Plain (Deny)." And the saint
added afterwards these words, saying, " How wonderful and
almost unspeakable is the swiftness of angelic motion, like, as
I imagine, to the rapidity of lightning. For the heavenly
spirit who just now flew away from us when that man began
to fall, arrived there to support him, as it were, in the twink
ling of an eye, before his body reached the ground ; nor was
the man who fell able to feel any fracture or bruise. How
wonderful, I say, is that most swift and timely help which
could be given so very quickly, even though such an extent of
land and sea lay between 3"
CHAPTER XVII.
Of the multitude of Holy Angels that were seen to come down from
heaven at the bidding of the blessed man.
ANOTHER time also, while the blessed man was living in the
louan island (Hy, now lona), he made this known to the as
sembled brethren with very great earnestness, saying, " To-day
I wish to go alone to the western plain of this island ; let none
of you therefore follow me." They obeyed, and he went alone,
as he desired. But a brother, who was cunning, and of a prying
disposition, proceeded by another road, and secretly placed him
self on the summit of a certain little hill which overlooked the
plain, because lie was very anxious to learn the blessed man's
THE LIFE OF SAINT COLUMBA. BOOK III. 89
motive for going out alone. While the spy on the top of the
hill was looking upon him as he stood on a mound in the plain,
with arms extended upwards, and eyes raised to heaven in
prayer, then, strange to tell, behold a wonderful scene presented
itself, which that brother, as I think not without the leave of
God, witnessed with his own eyes from his place on the neigh
bouring hill, that the saint's name and the reverence due to
him might afterwards, even against his wishes, be more widely
diffused among the people, through the vision thus vouchsafed.
For holy angels, the citizens of the heavenly country, clad in
white robes and flying with wonderful speed, began to stand
around the saint whilst he prayed ; and after a short converse
with the blessed man, that heavenly host, as if feeling itself
detected, flew speedily back again to the highest heavens. The
blessed man himself also, after his meeting with the angels,
returned to the monastery, and calling the brethren together a
second time, asked, with no little chiding and reproof, which of
them was guilty of violating his command. When all were
declaring they did not know at all of the matter, the brother,
conscious of his inexcusable transgression, and no longer able
to conceal his guilt, fell on his knees before the saint in the
midst of the assembled brethren, and humbly craved forgiveness.
The saint, taking him aside, commanded him under heavy
threats, as he knelt, never, during the life of the blessed man, to
disclose to any person even the least part of the secret regard
ing the angels' visit. It was, therefore, after the saint's departure
from the body that the brother related that manifestation of
the heavenly host, and solemnly attested its truth. Whence,
even to this day, the place where the angels assembled is called
by a name that beareth witness to the event that took place in
it ; this may be said to be in Latin " Colliculus Angelorum "
and is in Scotic Cnoc Angel (now called Sithean Mor).
Hence, therefore, we must notice, and even carefully inquire,
into the fact how great and of what kind these sweet visits of
angels to this blessed man were, which took place mostly during
the winter nights, when he was in watching and prayer in lonely
places while others slept. These were no doubt very numerous,
and could in no way come to the knowledge of other men.
Though some of these which happened by night or by day
might perhaps be discovered by one means or another, these
must have been very few compared with the angelic visions,
which, of course, could be known by nobody. The same obser
vation applies in the same way to other bright apparitions
hitherto investigated by few, which shall be afterwards
described.
90 THE LIFE OF SAINT COLUMBA. BOOK III.
CHAPTEE XVIII.
Of the bright Pillar seen to glow upon the Saint's head.
ANOTHER time four holy founders of monasteries came from
Scotia (Ireland), to visit St. Columba, and found him in the
Hinba island (Eilean-na-Naoimh). The names of these dis
tinguished men were Comgell Mocu Aridi, Cainnech Mocu
Dalon, Brenden Mocu Alti, and Cormac, grandson of Leathain.
They all with one consent agreed that St. Columba should
consecrate, in their presence in the church, the holy mysteries
of the Eucharist. The saint complied with their express
desire, and entered the church with them on Sunday as usual,
after the reading of the Gospel; and there, during the cele
bration of the solemn offices of the Mass, St. Brenden Mocu
Alti saw, as he told Comgell and Cainnech afterwards, a ball of
fire like a comet burning very brightly on the head of Columba,
while he was standing before the altar, and consecrating the
holy oblation, and thus it continued burning and rising upwards
like a column, so long as he continued to be engaged in the
same most sacred mysteries.
CHAPTEE XIX.
Of the Descent or Visit of the Holy Ghost, which in the same island
continued for three whole days and nights with the venerable
man.
AT another time, when the saint was living in the Hinba
island (Eilean-na-Naoimh), the grace of the Holy Ghost was
communicated to him abundantly and unspeakably, and dwelt
with him in a wonderful manner, so that for three whole days,
and as many nights, without either eating or drinking, he
allowed no one to approach him, and remained confined in a
house which was filled with heavenly brightness. Yet out of
that house, through the chinks of the doors and keyholes, rays
of surpassing brilliancy were seen to issue during the night.
Certain spiritual songs also, which had never been heard before,
he was heard to sing. He came to see, as he allowed in the
presence of a very few afterwards, many secrets hidden from
men since the beginning of the world fully revealed ; certain
very obscure and difficult parts of sacred Scripture also were
made quite plain, and clearer than the light to the eye of his
THE LIFE OF SAINT COLUMBA. BOOK III. 91
pure heart. He grieved that his beloved disciple, Baithen,
was not with him, because if he had chanced to be beside him
during those three days, he would have been able to explain
from the lips of the blessed man mysteries regarding past or
future ages, unknown to the rest of mankind, and to interpret
also some passages of the Sacred Volumes. However, Baithen
was then detained by contrary winds in the Egean island (Egg),
and he was not, therefore, able to be present until those three
days and as many nights of that glorious and unspeakable visi
tation came to a close.
CHAPTEE XX.
Of the angelic splendour of the light which Virgnous — a youth of
good disposition, and afterwards made by God superior of
this Church in which /, though unworthy ', now serve — saw
coming down upon St. Columba in the Church, on a winter's
night, when the brethren were at rest in their chambers.
ONE winter's night the forementioned Virgnous, burning with
the love of God, entered the church alone to pray, while the
others were asleep ; and he prayed fervently in a little side-
chamber attached to the walls of the oratory. After a consider
able interval, as it were of an hour, the venerable Columba
entered the same sacred house, and along with him, at the same
time, a golden light, that came down from the highest heavens
and filled that part of the church. Even the separate recess of
the side-chamber, where Virgnous was striving to hide himself
as much as he could, was also filled, to his great alarm, with some
of the brilliance of that heavenly light which burst through the
inner-door of the chamber, that was a little open. And as no
one can look directly at, or gaze with steady eye on, the summer
sun in his mid-day splendour, so Virgnous could not at all bear
this heavenly brightness which he saw, because of the brilliant
and unspeakable radiance which overpowered his sight. The
brother spoken of was so much terrified by the splendour,
almost as dreadful as lightning, that no strength remained in
him. But, after a short prayer, St. Columba left the church.
And the next day he sent for Virgnous, who was very much
alarmed, and spoke to him these few consoling words : " Thou
art crying to good purpose, my child, for last night thou wert
very pleasing in the sight of God by keeping thine eyes fixed
on the ground when thou wert overwhelmed with fear at the
92 THE LIFE OF SAINT COLUMBA. BOOK III.
brightness, for hadst thou not done so, that priceless light
would have blinded thine eyes. This, however, thou must care
fully observe — never to disclose this great manifestation of
light while I live."
This circumstance, therefore, which is so wonderful and so
worthy of record, became known to many after the saint's death
through this same Virgnous's relating it. Comman, sister's son
to Virgnous, a respected priest, solemnly assured me, Adanman,
of the truth of the vision I have just described, and he added,
moreover, that he heard the story from the lips of the abbot
Virgnous, his own uncle, who, as far as he could, had seen that
vision.
CHAPTEE XXL
Of another very similar Vision of great brilliancy.
ANOTHER night also, one of the brothers, whose name was
Colga, the son of Aid Draigniche, of the grandsons of Fechrech
mentioned in the first Book, came by chance, while the other
brothers were asleep, to the gate of the church, and stood .there
for some time praying. Then suddenly he saw the whole church
filled with a heavenly light, which more quickly than he could
tell, flashed like lightning from his gaze. He did not know
that St. Columba was praying at that time in the church, and
after this sudden appearance of light, he returned home in
great alarm. On the following day the saint called him aside
and rebuked him severely, saying : " Take care of one thing, my
child, that you do not attempt to spy out and pry too closely
into the nature of that heavenly light which was not granted
thee, but rather fled from thee, and that thou do not tell any
one during my lifetime what thou hast seen."
CHAPTER XXII.
Of another like Apparition of Divine light.
AT another time also, the blessed man gave strict orders one
day to Berchan, surnamed Mesloen, a pupil learning wisdom
with them, saying : " Take care, my son, that thou come not
near my little hut this evening, as thou art always accustomed
to do." Berchan however, though hearing this, went, contrary
to this command, to the blessed man's house in the dead of night
THE LIFE OF SAINT COLUMBA. BOOK III. 93
while others were at rest, and cunningly put down his eyes on
a line with the keyholes, in the hope that, just as the thing
happened, some heavenly vision would be shown to the saint
within. And at that very time the little hut was filled with a
light of heavenly brightness, which the disobedient young man
was not able to look upon, and therefore he fled at once from
the spot. On the morrow the saint took him apart, and chiding
him severely, addressed him in these words : " Last night, my
son, thou hast sinned before God, and thou didst vainly imagine
that the prying of thy secret inquisitiveness could be hidden or
concealed from the Holy Ghost. Did I not see thee at that
hour as thou didst draw near to the door of my hut, and as thou
didst go away from it ? Had I not prayed for thee at that
moment, thou wouldst have fallen dead there before the door,
or thine eyes would have been torn out of their sockets ; but on
my account, the Lord hath spared thee at this time. And be
thou assured of this also, that, whilst thou art living in luxury
in thine own country of Hibernia, thy face shall burn with
shame all the days of thy life. Yet by my prayers, I have
obtained this favour of God, that, as thou art my disciple, thou
shalt do heartfelt penance before death, and thus obtain the
mercy of God." All these things, according to the saying of the
blessed man, occurred afterwards to him as had been foretold
regarding him.
CHAPTER XXIII.
Of another Vision of Angels whom the Saint saw coming to meet
his soul, as if to show that it was about to leave the lody.
AT another time, while the blessed man was living in the
louan island (Hy, now lona), his holy countenance one day
was lighted up suddenly with strange transports of joy ; and
raising his eyes to heaven he was filled with delight, and re
joiced beyond measure. After an interval of a few seconds, that
sweet and enchanting delight was changed into a mournful
sadness.
Now, the two men, who at the same hour were standing at
the door of his hut, which was built on the higher ground, and
were themselves also much afflicted with him — of whom the
one was Lugne Mocublai, and the other a Saxon named Pilu,—
asked the cause of this sudden joy, and of the sorrow which
followed. The saint said to them, " Go in peace, and do not
ask me now to explain the cause of either that joy or that sad-
94 THE LIFE OF SAINT COLUMBA. BOOK III.
ness." On hearing this they humbly asked him, kneeling
before him in tears, and with faces sunk to the ground, to
grant their desire of knowing something concerning that
matter which at that same hour had been revealed to the saint.
Seeing them so much afflicted, he said, "On account of my
love to you, I do not wish you to be in sadness ; but you must
first promise me never to disclose to any one during my life
the secret you seek to know." They made of course the pro
mise at once according to his request, and then, when the pro
mise was made, the venerable man spake to them thus : " On
this very day, thirty years of my sojourn in Britain have been
completed, and meanwhile for many days past I have been
devoutly asking of my Lord to release me from my dwelling
here at the end of this thirtieth year, and to call me thither to
my heavenly fatherland. And this was the cause of that joy
of mine, of which in sorrowful mood you ask me. For I saw
the holy angels sent down from the lofty throne to meet my
soul when it is taken from the flesh. But, behold now how
they are stopped suddenly, and stand on a rock at the other
side of the Sound of our island, evidently being anxious to come
near me and deliver me from the body. But they are not
allowed to come nearer, because, that thing which God granted
me after praying with my whole strength — namely, that I
might pass from the world to Him on this day, — He hath
changed in a moment in His listening to the prayers of so
many churches for me. These churches have no doubt prayed
as the Lord hath granted, so that, though it is against my ardent
wish, four years from this day are added for me to abide in
the flesh. Such a sad delay as this was fitly the cause of the
grief to-day. At the end of these four years, then, which by
God's favour my life is yet to see, I shall pass away suddenly,
without any previous bodily sickness, and depart with joy to
the Lord, accompanied by His holy angels, who shall come
to meet me at that hour."
According to these words, which the venerable man uttered,
it is said, with much sorrow and grief, and even many tears, he
afterwards abode in the flesh for four years.
CHAPTEE XXIV.
How our Patron, St. Columba, passed to the Lord.
TOWARDS the end of the above-mentioned four years, and as
a true prophet, he knew long before that his death would
THE LIFE OF SAINT COLUMBA. BOOK III. 95
follow the close of that period, the old man, worn out with age,
went in a cart one day in the month of May, as we mentioned
in the preceding second Book, to visit some of the brethren
who were at work. And having found them at work on the
western side of the louan island (Hy, now lona), he began to
speak to them that day, saying, " During the paschal solemnities
in the month of April now past, with desire have I desired to
depart to Christ the Lord, as He had allowed me, if I preferred
it. But lest a joyous festival should be turned for you into
mourning, I thought it better to put off for a little longer the
time of my departure from the world." The beloved monks all
the while they were hearing this sad news were greatly afflicted,
and he endeavoured as well as he could to cheer them with
words of consolation. Then, having done this, he turned his
face to the east, still seated as he was in his chariot, and blessed
the island with its inhabitants; and from that day to the present,
as we have stated in the Book above mentioned, the venomous
reptiles with the three forked tongues could do no manner of
harm to man or beast. After uttering these words of blessing,
the saint was carried back to his monastery.
Then, again, a few days afterwards, while he was celebrating
the solemn offices of the Mass as usual on the Lord's day, the
face of the venerable man, as his eyes were raised to heaven,
suddenly appeared as if suffused with a ruddy glow, for, as it
is written, "A glad heart maketh a cheerful countenance." For
at that same hour he alone saw an angel of the Lord hovering
above within the walls of his oratory ; and as the lovely and
tranquil aspect of the holy angels infuses joy and exultation
into the hearts of the elect, this was the cause of that
sudden joy infused into the blessed man. When those who
were present on the occasion inquired as to the cause of that
joy with which he was evidently inspired, the saint looking
upwards gave them this reply, " Wonderful and unspeakable is
the subtiHty of the angelic nature ! For lo, an angel of the
Lord, who was sent to demand a certain deposit dear to God,
hath, after looking down upon us within the church, and bless
ing us, returned again through the roof of the church, without
leaving any trace of his passage out." Thus spoke the saint.
But none of the bystanders could understand what kind of a
deposit the angel was sent to demand. Our patron, however,
gave the name of a holy deposit to his own soul that had been
intrusted to him by God; and after an interval of six days
from that time, as shall be related further on, he departed to the
Lord on the night of the Lord's day. In the end, then, of this
same week, that is on the day of the Sabbath, the venerable
96 THE LIFE OF SAINT COLUMBA. BOOK III.
man, and his pious attendant Diormit, went to bless the barn
which was near at hand. When the saint had entered in and
blessed it, and two heaps of winnowed corn that were in it, he
gave expression to his thanks in these words, saying, " I heartily
congratulate my beloved monks, that this year also, if I am
obliged to depart from you, you will have a sufficient supply
for the year." On hearing this, Diormit his attendant began
to feel sad, and said, " This year, at this time, father, thou very
often vexest us, by so frequently making mention of thy leaving
us." But the saint replied to him, " I have a little secret
address to make to thee, and if thou wilt promise me faithfully
not to reveal it to any one before iny death, I shall be able to
speak to thee with more freedom about my departure." When
his attendant had on bended knees made the promise as the
saint desired, the venerable man thus resumed his address:
" This day in the Holy Scriptures is called the Sabbath, which
means rest. And this day is indeed a Sabbath to me, for it is
the last day of my present laborious life, and on it I rest after
the fatigues of my labours ; and this night at midnight, which
commenceth the solemn Lord's Day, I shall, according to the
sayings of Scripture, go the way of our fathers. For already
my Lord Jesus Christ deigneth to invite me; and to Him, I say,
in the middle of this night shall I depart, at His invitation. For
so it hath been revealed to me by the Lord himself." The
attendant hearing these sad words began to weep bitterly, and
the saint endeavoured to console him as well as he could.
After this the saint left the barn, and in going back to the
monastery, rested half way at a place where a cross, which was
afterwards erected, and is standing to this day, fixed into a mill
stone, may be observed on the roadside. While the saint, as I
have said, bowed down with old age, sat there to rest a little,
behold, there came up to him a white pack-horse, the same that
used, as a willing servant, to carry the milk-vessels from the cow
shed to the monastery. It came up to the saint and, strange to
say, laid its head on his bosom — inspired, I believe, by God to
do so, as each animal is gifted with the knowledge of things
according to the will of the Creator; and knowing that its
master was soon about to leave it, and that it would see him
no more — began to utter plaintive cries, and like a human
being, to shed copious tears on the saint's bosom, foaming and
greatly wailing. The attendant seeing this, began to drive the
weeping mourner away, but the saint forbade him, saying:
" Let it alone, as it is so fond of me, — let it pour out its bitter
grief into my bosom. Lo ! thou, as thou art a man, and hast a
rational soul, canst know nothing of my departure hence, ex-
THE LIFE OF SAINT COLUMBA. BOOK III. 97
cept what I myself have just told you ; but to this brute beast,
devoid of reason, the Creator Himself hath evidently in some
way made it known that its master is going to leave it." And
saying this, the saint blessed the work-horse, which turned
away from him in sadness.
Then leaving this spot, he ascended the hill that overlooketh
the monastery, and stood for some little time on its summit ;
and as he stood there with both hands uplifted, he blessed his
monastery, saying :
" Small and mean though this place is, yet it shall be held
in great and unusual honour, not only by Scotic kings and
people, but also by the rulers of foreign and barbarous nations,
and by their subjects ; the saints also even of other churches
shall regard it with no common reverence."
After these words he descended the hill, and having returned
to the monastery sat in his hut transcribing the Psalter, and
coming to that verse of the 33d Psalm (Eng. Vers. Ps. 34), where
it is written, " They that seek the Lord shall want no manner of
thing that is good," — " Here," said he, " at the end of the page,
I must stop ; and what follows let Baithene write." The last
verse he had written was very applicable to the saint, who was
about to depart, and to whom eternal goods shall never be
wanting ; while the one that followeth is equally applicable to
the father who succeeded him, the instructor of his spiritual
children : " Come, ye children, and hearken unto me : I will
teach you the fear of the Lord;" — and indeed he succeeded
him, as recommended by him, not only in teaching, but also in
writing.
Having written the aforementioned verse at the end of the
page, the saint went to the church to the nocturnal vigils of
the Lord's Day ; and so soon as this was over, he returned to
his chamber, and spent the remainder of the night on his bed,
where he had a bare flag for his couch, and for his pillow a
stone, which stands to this day as a kind of monument beside
his grave. While then he was reclining there, he gave his last
instructions to the brethren, in the hearing of his attendant
alone, saying: "These, 0 my children, are the last words I
address to you — that ye be at peace, and have unfeigned charity
among yourselves ; and if you thus follow the example of the
holy fathers, God, the Comforter of the good, will be your
Helper, and I, abiding with Him, will intercede for you ; and
He will not only give you sufficient to supply the wants of this
present life, but will also bestow on you the good and eternal
rewards which are laid up for those that keep His command
ments." Thus far have the last words of our venerable patron,
G
98 THE LIFE OF SAINT COLUMBA. BOOK TIL
as he was about to leave this weary pilgrimage for his heavenly
country, been preserved for recital in our brief narrative. After
these words, as the happy hour of his departure gradually
approached, the saint became silent. Then as soon as the bell
tolled at midnight, he rose hastily, and went to the church ;
and running more quickly than the rest, he entered it alone,
and knelt down in prayer beside the altar. At the same
moment his attendant Diormit, who more slowly followed him,
saw from a distance that the whole interior of the church was
filled with a heavenly light in the direction of the saint. And
as he drew near to the door, the same light he had seen, and
which was also seen by a few more of the brethren standing at
a distance, quickly disappeared. Diormit therefore entering
the church, cried out in a mournful voice, " Where art thou,
father ? " And feeling his way in the darkness, as the brethren
had not yet brought in the lights, he found the saint lying be
fore the altar ; and raising him up a little, he sat down beside
him, and laid his holy head on his bosom. Meanwhile the
rest of the monks ran in hastily in a body with their lights,
and beholding their dying father, burst into lamentations.
And the saint, as we have been told by some who were present,
even before his soul departed, opened wide his eyes and looked
round him from side to side, with a countenance full of wonder
ful joy and gladness, no doubt seeing the holy angels coming
to meet him. Diormit then raised the holy right hand of the
saint, that he might bless his assembled monks. And the
venerable father himself moved his hand at the same time, as
well as he was able — that as he could not in words, while his
soul was departing, he might at least, by the motion of his
hand, be seen to bless his brethren. And having given them
his holy benediction in this way, he immediately breathed his
last. After his soul had left the tabernacle of the body, his
face still continued ruddy, and brightened in a wonderful way
by his vision of the angels, and that to such a degree that he
had the appearance, not so much of one dead, as of one alive
and sleeping. Meanwhile the whole church resounded with
loud lamentations of grief.
I must not omit to mention the revelation made to a certain
saint of Ireland, at the very time the blessed soul departed.
For in that monastery which in the Scotic language is called
Clonifinchoil (now'Eosnarea, in parish of Knockcommon, Meath),
there was a holy man named Lugud, son of Tailchan, one who
had grown old in the service of Christ, and was noted for his
sanctity and wisdom. Now this man had a vision which at
early dawn he told in great affliction to one called Fergnous,
THE LIFE OF SAINT COLUMBA. BOOK III. 99
who was like himself a servant of Christ. " In the middle of
this last night," said he, " Columba, the pillar of many churches,
passed to the Lord ; and at the moment of his blessed departure,
I saw in the spirit the whole louan island, where I never was
in the body, resplendent with the brightness of angels ; and the
whole heavens above it, up to the very zenith, were illumined
with the brilliant light of the same heavenly messengers, who
descended in countless numbers to bear away his holy soul.
At the same moment, also, I heard the loud hymns and en-
trancingly. sweet canticles of the angelic host, as his holy soul
was borne aloft amidst the ascending choirs of angels." Virgnous,
who about this time came over from Scotia (Ireland), and spent
the rest of his life in the Hinba island (Eilean-na-Naoimh),
very often related to the monks of St. Columba this vision of
angels, which, as has been said, he undoubtedly heard from the
lips of the old man himself, to whom it had been granted. This
same Virgnous, having for many years lived without reproach in
obedience amongst the brethren, led the life of an anchorite, as a
victorious soldier of Christ, for twelve years more, in the her
mitage of Muirbulcmar. This vision above mentioned we have
not only found in writing, but have heard related with the
utmost freedom by several well-informed old men to whom
Virgnous himself had told it.
Another vision also given at the same hour under a different
form was related to me — Adamnan — who was a young man at
the time, by one of those who had seen it ; and who solemnly
assured me of its truth. He was a very old man, a servant of
Christ, whose name may be called Ferreol, but in the Scotic
tongue Ernene, of the race of Mocufirroide, who, as being him
self a holy monk, is buried in the Eidge of Tomma (now Drum-
home, county Donegal), amidst the remains of other monks of
St. Columba, and awaits the resurrection with the saints ; he
said : " On that night when St. Columba, by a happy and
blessed death, passed from earth to heaven, while I and others
with me were engaged in fishing in the valley of the river
Fend (the Finn, in Donegal) — which abounds in fish — we saw
the whole vault of heaven become suddenly illuminated:
Struck by the suddenness of the miracle, we raised our eyes and
looked towards the east, when, lo ! there appeared something
like an immense pillar of fire, which seemed to us, as it ascended
upwards at that midnight, to illuminate the whole earth like
the summer sun at noon ; and after that column penetrated the
heavens darkness followed, as if the sun had just set. And not
only did we, who were together in the same place, observe with
intense surprise the brightness of this remarkable luminous
100 THE LIFE OF SAINT COLUMBA. BOOK III.
pillar, but many other fishermen also, who were engaged in fish
ing here and there in different deep pools along the same river,
were greatly terrified, as they afterwards related to us, by an
appearance of the same kind." These three miraculous visions,
then, which were seen at the very hour of our venerable patron's
departure, show clearly that the Lord hath conferred on him
eternal honours. But let us now return to our narrative.
After his holy soul had departed, and the matin hymns
were finished, his sacred body was carried by the brethren,
chanting psalms, from the church back to his chamber, from
which a little before he had come alive; and his obsequies
were celebrated with all due honour and reverence for three
days and as many nights. And when these sweet praises of
God were ended, the venerable body of our holy and blessed
patron was wrapped in a clean shroud of fine linen, and, being
placed in the coffin prepared for it, was buried with all due
veneration, to rise again with lustrous and eternal bright
ness.
And now, near the close of this book, we shall relate what
hath been told us by persons cognisant of the facts, regarding
the above-mentioned three days during which his obsequies
were celebrated in due ecclesiastical form. It happened on
one occasion that a certain brother speaking with great sim
plicity in the presence of the holy and venerable man, said to
him, " After thy death all the people of these provinces will
row across to the louan island (Hy, now lona), to celebrate
thine obsequies, and will entirely fill it." Hearing this said
the saint immediately replied : " JSTo, my child, the event will
not turn out as thou sayest ; for a promiscuous throng of people
shall not by any means be able to come to my obsequies : none
but the monks of my monastery will perform my funeral rites,
and grace the last offices bestowed upon me." And the fulfil
ment of this prophecy was brought about immediately after his
death by God's almighty power; for there arose a storm of
wind without rain, which blew so violently during those three
days and nights of his obsequies, that it entirely prevented
every one from crossing the Sound in his little boat. And im
mediately after the interment of the blessed man, the storm
was quelled at once, the wind ceased, and the whole sea became
calm.
Let the reader therefore think in what and how great honour
our illustrious patron was held by God, seeing that, while he
was yet in this mortal flesh, God was pleased at his prayer to
quell the storms and to calm the seas; and again, when he
found it necessary, as on the occasion just mentioned, the gales
THE LIFE OF SAINT COLUMBA. BOOK III. 101
of wind arose as he wished, and the sea was lashed into fury ;
and this storm, as hath been said, was immediately, so soon as
his funeral rites were performed, changed into a great calm.
Such, then, was the end of our illustrious patron's life, and
such is an earnest of all his merits.
And now, according to the sentence of the Holy Scrip
tures, sharing in eternal triumphs, added to the patriarchs,
associated with the prophets and apostles, numbered amongst
the thousands of white-robed saints, who have washed their
robes in the blood of the Lamb, he followeth the Lamb whither
soever He goeth ; a virgin immaculate, free from all stain,
through the grace of our Lord Jesus Christ : to whom, with
the Father, be honour, and power, and praise, and glory, and
eternal dominion, in the unity of the Holy Ghost for ever and
ever.
After reading these three books, let the diligent reader ob
serve of what and how great merit, of what and how high
honour in the sight of God our holy and venerable abbot must
have been deemed worthy, how great and many were the bright
visits of the angels made to him, how full of the prophetic
spirit, how great his power of miracles wrought in God, how
often and to what great extent, while yet he was abiding in
this mortal flesh, he was surrounded by a halo of heavenly
light ; and how, even after the departure of his most kindly
soul from the tabernacle of the body, until the present day the
place where his sacred bones repose, as has been clearly shown
to certain chosen persons, doth not cease to be frequently
visited by the holy angels, and illumined by the same heavenly
brightness. And this unusual favour hath been conferred by
God on this same man of blessed memory; that though he
lived in this small and remote island of the British sea, his
name hath not only become illustrious throughout the whole of
our own Scotia (Ireland), and Britain, the largest island of the
whole world, but hath reached even unto triangular Spain, and
into Gaul, and to Italy, which lieth beyond the Penine Alps ;
and also to the city of Eome itself, the head of all cities. This
great and honourable celebrity, amongst other marks of divine
favour, is known to have been conferred on this same saint by
God, Who loveth those that love Him, and raiseth them to
immense honour by glorifying more and more those that
magnify and truly praise Him, Who is blessed for evermore.
Amen.
I beseech those who wish to transcribe these books, yea,
rather I adjure them by Christ, the Judge of the world, after
102 THE LIFE OF ST. COLUMBA. BOOK III.
they have diligently transcribed, carefully to compare and
correct their copies with that from which they have copied
them, and also to subjoin here this adjuration : —
Whoever readeth these books on the virtues of St. Columba, let
him pray to the Lord for me Dorbbene, that after death I may
possess eternal life.
VITA SANCTI COLUMB^l
AUCTOBE ADAMNANO.
VITA SANCTI COLUMB^.
lln jjamiiie Jtestt Christi
nostri Patroni, Christo 2suffragante, vitam 3descrip-
turus, fratrum flagitationibus obsecundare volens, in primia
eandem lectures quosque 4admonere procurabo ut fidem dictis
adhibeant 5compertis, et res inagis quam verba perpendant,
quae, ut aestimo, inculta et villa esse videntur ; meininerintque
regnum Dei non in eloquentiae exuberantia, sed in fidei floru-
lentia constare ; et nee ob aliqua Scoticse, vilis videlicet 6linguse,
aut 7humana onomata, aut gentium, 8obscura locorumve voca-
bula, quse, ut puto, inter alias 9exterarum gentium 10diversas
11vilescunt linguas, utilium, et non sine divina opitulatione ges-
tarum, 12despiciant rerum pronuntiationem. Sed et hoc lectorem
13admonendum putavimus, quod de beatas memoriaa viro plura,
studio brevitatis, etiam 14memoria digna, a nobis 15sint 16pr83-
termissa, et quasi pauca de plurimis 17ob evitandum fastidium
18lecturorum sint 19caraxata. Et hoc, ut arbitror, quisque haec
lecturus forte annotabit, quod minima de maximis per populos
I Incipit prim a praefatio apologiaque Adomnani abbatis sancti scriptoris in
vitam S. Columbre confessoris et abbatis C. — vite sancti Coltimbae S. In-
ci])it prologus Adamnani abbatis in vita sancti Columbas abbatis et con
fessoris D. om. F. Codex B acephalus eat, hodleque ad -ro pectore verbo
in cap. 3 incipit. 2 Sufragante A. 3 discripturus A. F. S.
4 ammonere A. F. S. 5 conpertis A. 6 lingse A. lingue D.
7 iiomina anomala inepte Boll. 8 ad exterarum om. C.
9 A. D. F. S. externarum. Colg. Boll. 10 om. D.
II vilescant C. in marg. sive vilefaciant Mess. 12 dispiciant A.
13 ammonendum A. F. ammonendi D. 14 memorise D. F.
^ sunt C. 16 prastermisa. ^ ad D. 18 lectorum C. D. F. S.
C. D. F. S. craxata A. octies in hac vita, quinquies prceterea in tractatu
De Locis Sanctis, hcec forma, verislmiliter Adamnani propria, adh'ibetur.
Stephanus Vitus, cujas apographo Codicis A. usl sunt Colyanus et Bollandlstce,
exarare hie et alibi substitute; volens, ut ait Baertius, plus quam oportebat
sapere.
106 VITA SANCTI COLUMBA.
fama, de eodem beato viro 20divulgata, disperserit, ad horum
21etiam paucorum 22comparationem, quse mine breviter 23caraxare
disponimus. 24Hinc, post hanc primam prsefatiunculam, de
nostri vocamine praesulis in exordio secundse, Deo auxiliante,
intimare exordiar.
1In U-omitue Jfasu (Ehiisti <§*nntba;
"^ii IE erat vitse venerabilis et beatse memoriEe, monasteriorum
pater et fundator, cum lona 2propheta 3homonymum 4sortitus
nomen; nam licet diverso trium diversarum 6sono linguarum,
6unam tamen eandemque rem significat hoc, quod 7Hebraice
dicitur ION A, 8Grcecitas vero 9I1EPI2TEPA 10vocitat, et Latina
lingua COLUMBA nuncupatur. Tale tantumque vocabulum
homini Dei non nsine divina 12inditum providentia creditur.
Nam et juxta Evangeliorum fidem Spiritus Sanctus super Uni-
genitum seterni Patris 13descendisse monstratur in forma illius
aviculse quae columba dicitur : unde plerumque in sacrosanctis
libris u columba mystice Spiritum Sanctum significare 15dignos-
citur. Proinde et Salvator in evangelio suo prsecepit discipulis
ut columbarum in cordepuro insertam 16simplicitatem 17contin-
erent ; columba etenim 18 simplex et innocens est avis. Hoc
itaque vocamine et homo simplex innocensque nuncupari de-
buit qui in se columbinis moribus Spiritui Sancto hospitium
prsbbuit : cui nomini non inconvenienter congruit illud quod in
Proverbiis scriptum est, Melius est nomen bonum quam divitise
multse. Hie igitur noster prsesul non 19immerito, non solum 20a
diebus infantise hoc vocabulo, Deo donante, adornatus, proprio
ditatus est, sed etiam 21prsemissis multorum 22cyclis annorum
ante 23su8e nativitatis diem cuidam Christi iniliti, Spiritu reve-
lante Sancto, quasi films repromissionis mirabili prophetatione
-° devulgata A. D. 21 om. C. 22 conparationera A.
-3 C. D. F. S. craxare A. exarare Colg. Boll. 24 ad exordiar om. D.
1 Incipit praefatio seounda C. F. S. Incipit secundus prologus D.
2 profeta A. 3 ornonimon A. D. F. S. homonymum C.
4 sortitus est C. 5 om. D. G nomine add. D.
1 Ebraice A. 8 Grecitas A.
9 IIHPICTHPA A. F. S. NHIIIOTHTA peristera C.
10 vocitatur D. n esse add. F.
12 providentia inditum esse credimus C. D. S. 13 filium add. C. D.
14 om. C. 15 dinoscitur A. S. 1G semplicitatem A.
17 contenerent A.
18 semplex A. S., et simplex innocensque nuncupari debuit C.
19 inmerito A. F. S.
20 adiebus A. duo vcrba atepe In cod. A. more Hibernico cohcercnt.
21 prasmisis A. 22 circulis D. 23 om. D.
SECUNDA PlUiFATIO. 107
nominate est. Nam quidam proselytus 24Brito, homo sanctus,
sancti Patricii 25episcopi discipulus, 26Maucteus nomine, ita de
nostro 27prophetizavit Patrono, sicuti nobis ab antiquis traditum
expertis compertum habetur. In novissimis, 28ait, 2yseculi 29tem-
poribus n'lius nasciturus est, cujus nomen Columba per omnes
insularum 30oceani 31provincias 32divulgabitur notum ; novissi-
maque orbis tempora 33clare 34illustrabit. Mei et ipsius duorum
35monasteriolorum agelluli unius sepisculaa intervallo distermina-
buntur : homo valde Deo carus, et grandis coram ipso meriti.
Hujus igitur nostri Columbse vitam et mores describens, in
primis 36brevi sermonis textu, in quantum valuero, strictim com-
prehendam, et ante lectoris oculos sanctam ejus conversatio-
nem pariter exponam. Sed et de miraculis ejus succincte
quasdam, quasi legentibus avide preegustanda, ponam ; quse
tarn en inferius, per 37tres divisa libros, plenius explicabuntur.
Quorum Primus 3Spropheticas revelationes ; Secundusverodivinas
per ipsum virtutes effectas ; Tertius angelicas apparitiones, 39con-
tinebit, et quasdam super hominem Dei cselestis claritudinis
40manifestationes. Nemo itaque me de hoc tarn preedicabili viro
aut mentitum sestimet, aut quasi, qu&dam dubia vel incerta
scripturum : sed ea qua3 majorum fideliumque virorum tradita
expertorum 41congrua relatione 42narraturum, et sine ulla ambi-
guitate 43caraxaturum sciat, et vel ex his quas ante nos inserta
paginis 44reperire potuimus, 45vel ex his quae 46auditu ab expertis
quibusdam fidelibus antiquis, sine ulla dubitatione narrantibus,
diligentius sciscitantes, didicimus.
1 SANCTUS igitur Columba 2nobilibus 3fuerat oriundus genit-
alibus, patrem 4habens 5Fedilmithum filium 6Eerguso ; matrem
7Aethneam nomine, 8 cujus pater Latine Filius Navis dici potest,
24 Britto T>. 25 archiepiscopi D.
26 Maucteus A. F. S. Moctheus D. Maueteus C. in cujus errorem,
MAVETEUS tradena, ineptius discedit Pink. Mauctaneus Colg. Boll.
27 profetizavit A. 28 inquit C. D. 29 transp. C. D.
30 ociani A. 31 provintias F. 32 devulgabitur A.
J3 om. D. 3i inlustrabit A. S. 35 monasteriorum C.
30 brevis C. 37 tris A. 38 profeticas A.
30 contenebit A. 3°-40 manifestationes continebit C.
40 manifestationis A. 4l legi neqult in A. cognovi C. F. S. congruo D.
12 narrantiumC. narratur D. 4;J craxaturum A. exaratunim Colg. Boll.
44 repperire A. 45 ut C. 46 audivi C.
1 Incipit liber primus de propheticis revelationibus C. S. Explicit secnndus
prologus in vita sancti Columbe abbatis et confessoris Incipit primus liber in
vita sanctissimi Columbe abbatis et confessoris D.
2 ex add. D. 3 faft D 4 owl> p.
5 Fedelmitum C. Fedilmithum A. F. S. Feidlimyd D. Fedhlimidium
Mess. ° A. F. Ferguis D. Fergusii C.
7 A. S. Aetheam F. Ethneam D.
8 usque ad Nave vio/.enter deletus in S. om. D.
108 VITA SANCTI COLUMB^E.
Scotica vero lingua 9Mac Nave. Hie anno secundo post 10Cule-
drebinae bellum, setatis vero suse xlii. de n Scotia ad Britanniam
pro Christo 12peregrinari volens, enavigavit. Qui 13et a puero
14Christiano deditus tirocinio, et sapientise studiis integritatem
corporis et animee puritatem, Deo donante, custodiens, quamvis
in terra positus, coelestibus se aptum moribus ostendebat. Erat
enim aspectu angelicus, sermone nitidus, opere sanctus, ingenio
optimus, consilio magnus, per annos xxxiv. insulamis miles
15conversatus. Nullum etiam unius horse intervallum transire
poterat, quo non aut oration i aut lectioni, vel scrip tioni, vel
etiam alicui operationi, incumberet. Jejunationum quoque et
vigiliarum 16indefessis 17laboribus sine ulla 18intermissione 19die
noctuque 20ita occupatus, 21ut supra humanam possibilitatem
uniuscujusque pondus specialis 22 videretur operis. Et inter hsec
omnibus carus, hilarem 23 semper faciem ostendens 24sanctam,
Spiritus Sancti gaudio 25intimis laetificabatur prsecordiis.
9 A. F. Macanaua C.
10 A. Culedreibhne C. D. Culae drebinae S. Cule-drehtinae male Colg.
Boll. n Scothea S. Hybernia D. 12 perigrinare A.
!3 etiam C. D. 14 deditus Christiano C.
15 est versatus C. conversatus est F. D. conservatus S.
16 indefesis A. indefessus C. 17 laborationibus C. D. F. S.
18 intermisione A. 19 diu C. 20 occupatus ita C.
21 erat add. F. 22 operis videretur C. 23 om.. F. semper hilarem D.
24 sanctorum specie Sancti Spiritus C. sancto Boll. 25 in add. D.
lflmt fl ritra ICibri 2Capitulaticme£ arbhmtttr.
]H)E virtutum miraculis brevis narratio.
De sancto Finteno abbate, Tailchani filio, quomodo de ipso
sanctus Columba 3prophetavit.
De Erneneo, filio Craseni, 3prophetia ejus.
De adventu Cainnichi quomodo praenuntiavit.
De periculo sancti Colmani gente Mocusailni sancto Columbaa
revelato.
De Cormaco nepote I^etha 3prophetationes ejus.
De bellis.
De regibus.
De duobus pueris secundum verbum ejus in fine septimanse
mortuis.
De Colcio filio Aido Draigniche, et de quodain occulto matris
ipsius peccato.
De signo mortis ejusdem viri 3prophetia sancti Columbae.
De Laisrano hortulano.
De Ceto magno quomodo 3prophetavit.
De quodam Baitano, qui cum cseteris ad maritimum remigavit
deserturn.
De quodam Nemano ficto 4pcenitente, qui postea secundum
verbum sancti carnem equae furtiva? comedit.
De illo infelici viro qui cum sua genitrice peccavit.
De I vocali littera quaB una in 5Psalterio defuit.
De libro in 6hydriarn cadente.
De corniculo atramenti inclinato.
1 Omnia usque ad cap. 2 desunt in C. I). F. S. Elenchus in Colg. Boll.
ad numerum capitulorum expletus est. 2 Kapitulationes A.
3 profet. A. 4 penetente A. 5 salterio A. 6 ytlriam A.
1 10 VITA SANCTI COLUMB.E.
De adventu alicujus Aidani qui jejunium solvit.
De aliquo misero viro, qui ad fretum clamitabat, mox mori-
turo.
De civitate Eomance partis, super quam ignis de ccelo 7cecidit.
De Laisrano filio Feradaig, quomodo 8monachos probavit in
labore.
De Fechno 9Binc.
De Cailtano mouacho.
De duobus peregrinis.
De Artbranano sene, quern in Scia insula 10baptizavit.
De naviculae transmotatione juxta stagnum Loch-dire.
De Gallano filio Faehtni quern dsemones rapuere.
De Lugidio Claudo.
De Enaiio filio uGruth.
De 12presbitero qui erat in Triota.
De Erco furunculo.
De Cronano poeta.
De Eonano filio Aido filii Colcen, et Colmano Cane filio Aileni,
13proplietia Sancti.
7 cicidit A. 8 manacos A. y obscure A.
10 babtizavit A. ll sic A. 12 prespitero A.
13 profetia A.
INCIPIT PEIMI LTBEI TEXTUS, DE ^EOPHETICIS
EEVELATIONIBUS.
birttttum JEiramli0 butoi* narrati*.
venerandus qualia virtutum documenta dederit, CAP. I.
in hujus libelli primordiis, secundum nostram 2pr8emissam supe-
rius 3promissiunculam, breviter sunt demonstranda. Diver-
sorum namque infestationes 4morborum homines, in nomine
Domini Jesu Christi, virtute orationum, perpessos sanavit :
dsemonumque infestas ipse unus homo, et innumeras contra se
belligerantes catervas, 5oculis corporalibus visas, et incipientes
mortiferos super ejus 6coenobialem coetum inferre morbos, hac
nostra de insula retrotrusas primaria, Deo auxiliante, repulit.
Bestiarum furiosam rabiem, partim mortificatione, partini forti
repulsione, Christo adjuvante 7compescuit. Tumores quoque
fluctuum, instar montium aliquando in magna tempestate con-
surgentium, ipso ocius orante, sedati humiliatique sunt ; navis-
que ipsius, in qua et ipse casu navigabat, tune temporis, facta
8tranquillitate, porturn appulsa est optatum. In regione
Pictorum aliquantis diebus manens, inde reversus ut magos
confunderet, contra flatus contraries 9venti erexit velum, et ita
veloci cursu ejus navicula enatans festinabat, ac si secundum
habuisset ventum. Aliis quoque temporibus, venti naviganti-
bus contrarii in secundos, ipso orante, conversi sunt. In eadem
supra memorata regione lapidem de fluinine candidum detulit,
quern ad aliquas profuturum benedixit sanitates : qui lapis,
contra naturam, in aqua intinctus, quasi pomum supernatavit.
Hoc divinum miraculum coram Brudeo rege, et familiaribus
ejus, factum est. In eadem itidem provincia, 10cujusdam plebei
1 profetia A. 2 prsemisam A. 3 promisiunculam A.
4 membrorum Colg, Boll. r> occulis A. c cenubialeni A.
7 eonpiscuit A. 8 tranquilitate A. y ponti Colg. Boll.
10 om. Colg. Boll.
112 VITA SANCTI COLUMB^. LIBER I.
credentis mortuum puerum suscitavit, quod est rnajoris mira-
culi, vivumque et incolumem patri et matri assignavit. Alio
in tempore idem vir beatus juvenis diaconus, in nHiberma
apud Eindbarrum sanctum episcopum commanens, cum ad
sacrosancta mysteria necessarium defuisset vinum, virtute
orationis, aquam puram in verum vertit vinum. Sed et ccelestis
ingens claritudinis lumen, et in noctis tenebris, et in luce diei,
super eum, aliquando quibusdam ex fratribus, diversis et
separatis vicibus, apparuit effusum. Sanctorum quoque angel-
orum dulces et suavissimas frequentationes luminosas habere
meruit. Quorumdam justorum animas crebro ab angelis ad
summa coelorum vehi, Sancto revelante Spiritu, videbat. Sed
et reproborum alias ad inferna a daemonibus 12ferri saepenumero
aspiciebat. Plurimorum in carne mortali adhuc conversantium
futura plerumque prsenuntiabat merita, aliorum laeta, aliorum
tristia. In bellorumque terrificis fragoribus hoc a Deo virtute
orationum 13impetravit, ut alii reges victi, et alii regnatores
efficerentur victores. Hoc tale 14privilegium non tantum in hac
prsesenti vita conversanti, sed etiam post ejus de carne tran-
situm, quasi cuidam victoriali 15et fortissimo propugnatori, a
Deo omnium sanctorum condonatum est honorificatore. Hujus
talis honorificentiae viro honorabili ab Omnipotente ccelitus
collatse etiam unum proferemus exemplum, quod 160ssualdo
regnatori Saxonico, pridie quam contra 17Catlonem Britonum
regem fortissimum praeliaretur, ostensum erat. Nam cum idem
Ossualdus rex esset in procinctu belli castra metatus, quadarn
die in 18suo papilione supra pulvillum dormiens, sanctum
Columbam in visu videt forma coruscantem angelica ; cujus alta
proceritas vertice nubes tangere videbatur. Qui scilicet 19vir
beatus, suum regi proprium revelans nomen, in medio castrorum
stans, eadem castra, excepta quadam parva extremitate, 20sui
protegebat fulgida veste ; et haec confirmatoria contulit verba,
eadem scilicet quae Dominus ad Jesue 21Ben Nun ante tran-
situm Jordanis, mortuo Moyse, 22prolocutus est, dicens : Confor-
tare et age viriliter; ecce ero tecuin etc. Sanctus itaque
Columba, haec ad regem in visu loquens, addit : Hac sequenti
nocte de castris ad bellum precede; hac enim vice mihi
Dominus donavit ut hostes in fugam vertantur tui, et tuus
^Cation inimicus in manus tradatur tuas, et post bellum victor
11 Ebernia A. 12 om. Colg. rapi Boll. 13 inpetravit A.
14 i>raevilegium A. 15 om. Colg. Boll. 1C Oswaldo Colg. Boll.
17 Cathlonem Fordun, iii. 42. Cathotiem Boll. 18 sua A.
19 om. Colg. Boll. 20 suos Colg. sua Boll, sui Fordun.
21 A. Fordun. annum Colg. om. Boll. 22 proloqutus A.
23 Cathlon Fordun. Catlion Boll.
VITA SANCTI COLUMB^E. LIBER T. 113
revertaris, et feliciter regnes. Post haec verba 24experrectus
rex senatui congregate hanc 25enarrat visionem ; qua confortati
omnes, totus populus promittit se post reversionem de bello
crediturum et 26baptismum suscepturum: nam usque in id
temporis tota ilia Saxonia gentilitatis et ignorantise tenebris
obscurata erat, excepto ipso rege Ossualdo, cum duodecim viris,
qui cum eo Scotos inter 27exulante 28baptizati sunt. Quid
plura ? eadem subsecuta nocte Ossualdus rex, sicuti in visu
edoctus fuerat, de castris ad bellum, cum admodum pauciore
exercitu, contra 29millia numerosa progreditur ; cui a Domino,
sicut ei promissum est, felix et facilis est concessa victoria, et
rege trucidato 30Catlone, victor post 31bellum re versus, postea
totius Britannise imperator a Deo ordinatus est. Hanc mini
32Adamnano narrationem meus decessor, noster abbas Failbeus,
indubitanter enarravit, qui se ab ore ipsius Ossualdi regis,
Segineo abbati eamdem enuntiantis visionem, audisse protes-
tatus est.
Sed et hoc etiam non prsetereundum videtur, quod ejusdem
beati viri per quaedam Scoticse 33 linguae 34laudum ipsius carmina,
et nominis 35commemorationem, quidam, quamlibet scelerati
laicae conversationis homines et sanguinarii, ea nocte qua eadem
decantaverant cantica, de manibus 36inimicorum qui eamdem
eorumdem cantorum domum circumsteterant sint liberati ; qui
flammas inter et gladios et lanceas incolumes evasere, mirumque
in modum pauci ex ipsis, qui easdem sancti viri 37commemora-
tiones, quasi parvi pendentes, canere 38noluerant decantationes, in
illo aemulorum impetu soli disperierant. Hujus miraculi testes
non duo aut tres, juxta legem, sed etiam centeni, et eo amplius,
adhiberi potuere. Non tantum in uno, aut loco, aut tempore,
hoc idem 39contigisse comprobatur, sed etiam diversis locis et
temporibus in Scotia et in Britannia, simili tamen et modo et
causa liberationis, factum fuisse, sine ulla ambiguitate explora-
tum est. Hsec ab expertis uniuscujusque regionis, ubicumque
res eadem simili 40contigit miraculo indubitanter didicimus.
Sed, ut ad 41propositum redeamus, inter ea miracula quae
idem vir Domini, in carne mortali conversans, Deo donante,
24 prius expergitus in A. 25 enarravit Colg. Boll.
26 babtismum A. baptisma Ford. 27 exsolante A._ exulantes Ford.
28 babtizati A. *9 milia A. 30 Cathone Boll. Cadwallone Ford.
11 bella Ford. 32 Ford. Adomnano A. 33 ling® A.
34 laudem Colg. carmina laudera ipsius Boll.
35 commendationem Colg. Boll. 3ti om. Colg. eorum Boll.
37 commemorationis A. 38 noluerunt Colg. Bolg.
39 contegisse conprobatur A. 40 contegit. 41 propossitum A.
H
114 VITA SANCTI COLUMILE. LIBER I.
42perfecerat, ab annis juvenilibus coepit etiam prophetise spiritu
pollere, ventura prsedicere, prsesentibus absentia nuntiare ; quia
quamvis absens corpore, prsesens tamen spiritu, longe acta 43per-
videre poterat. Nam, juxta Pauli vocem, Qui adhaeret Domino
unus spiritus est. Unde et idem vir Domini sanctus Columba,
sicut et ipse quibusdam paucis fratribus, de re eadem aliquando
percunctantibus, non negavit, in aliquantis dialis gratise specu-
lationibus totum etiam mundum, veluti uno solis radio collec-
tum, sinu mentis mirabiliter laxato, manifestatum perspiciens
speculabatur.
Haec de sancti viri hie ideo enarrata sunt virtutibus, ut avidior
lector breviter perscripta, quasi dulciores quasdam praegustet
dapes: quae tamen plenius in tribus inferius libris, Domino
auxiliante, enarrabuntur. Nunc mihi non indecenter videtur,
beati viri, licet prsepostero ordine, prophetationes effari, quas de
sanctis quibusdam et illustribus viris, diversis prolocutus est
temporibus.
J5^ gander Jfintemr, abbate, filio
CAP. ii. J^fANCTUS 2Fintenus, qui postea per universas Scotorum
ecclesias valde 3 noscibilis habitus est, a puerili aetate integri-
tatem carnis et animae, Deo adjuvante, custodiens, studiis 4 dialis
5sophias deditus, hoc propositum,in annis 6juventutisconversatus,
in corde habuit, ut nostrum sanctum Columbam, 7 Hiberniam
deserens, peregrinaturus adiret. Eodem aestuans desiderio, ad
quemdam vadit seniorem sibi amicum, in sua gente prudentis-
simum venerandumque clericum, qui Scotice 8vocitabatur
9Columb Crag, ut ab eo, quasi prudente, aliquod audiret con-
silium. Cui cum 10suos tales denudaret ncogitatus, hoc ab eo
responsum 12accepit : Tuum, ut sestimo, 13a Deo inspiratum de-
votumque desiderium quis prohibere potest, ne ad sanctum
Columbam 14transnavigare I14 debeas? 15 Eadem hora casu duo
adveniunt monachi sancti Columbse, qui de sua interrogati
ambulatione, Nuper, aiunt, de Britannia remigantes, hodie a
4'2 perficerat A. 43 praevidere Colg. Boll.
1 titulus desideratur in C. D. S. F. Boll. 2 finntanus D.
3 nocibHis D. 4 A. D. F. S. dialecticalis C.
6 sotias A. F. S. sophie D. c juventatis A.
7 C. D. F. S. heverniam A. 8 dicitur D.
9 colum crag A. Columba Cragius ODonnellus in Vit. S. Columbce, iii. 65,
vcrtente Colg. columbus (crag. om). C. D. F. S.
10 suas D. ll cogitationes D. 12 accipit A.
13 adeo C. 14 adeas D.
15 omnia desunt usque ad idem sanctus, cap. 3 D.
VITA SANCTI COLUMB^). LIBER I. 115
Roboreto 16Calgachi venimus. Sospes 17anne est, ait 18Columb
19 Crag, vester Columba sanctus] pater ? Qui valde illacrymati,
cum magno dixerunt mserore, Vere salvus est noster ille patronus,
qui his diebus nuper ad Christum 20commigravit. Quibus
auditis, 21Fintenus et 22Columb et omnes qui ibidem inerant,
prostratis in terrain vultibus, amare 23flevere. Fintenus conse-
qu enter percunctatur dicens : Quern post se successoremreliquit?
24Baitheneum, aiunt, suum alumnum. Omnibusque clamitanti-
bus, Dignum et debitum ; 25Columb ad Fintenum 26inquit : Quid
ad hsec, Fintene, facies ? Qui respondens ait : Si Dominus per-
miserit, ad Baitheneum virum sanctum et sapientem enavigabo
et si me susceperit, ipsum abbatem habebo. Turn deinde supra
memoratum 27Columb osculatus, et ^ei valedicens, navigationem
prseparat, et sine morula ulla transnavigans, ^louam devenit
insulam. Et necdum, in id temporis usque, nomen ejus in his
locis erat notum. Unde et imprimis quasi quidam ignotus
hospes hospitaliter 30susceptus, alia die 31nuncium ad ^Baithe
neum mittit, ejus allocutionem facie ad faciem habere volens.
Qui, ut erat affabilis, et peregrinis appetibilis, jubet ad se
adduci. Qui statim adductus, primo, ut 33conveniebat, flexis
genibus in 34 terra se prostravit ; ^jussusque a sancto seniore,
surgit, et residens interrogatur a 36Baitheneo, adhuc inscio, de
gente et provincia, nomineque et conversatione, et pro qua causa
inierit navigationis labor em. Qui, ita interrogatus, omnia per
ordinem enarrans, ut susciperetur humiliter expostulat. Cui
sanctus senior, his ab hospite auditis, simulque hunc esse virum
cognoscens de quo pridem aliquando sanctus Columba pro-
phetice vaticinatus est, Gratias, ait, Deo meo agere debeo quidem
in tuo adventu, fili; sed 37hoc indubitanter scito quod noster
monachus non eris. Hoc audiens ^hospes, valde contristatus,
infit : Forsitan ego indignus tuus non mereor fieri monachus.
Senior consequenter inquit : Non quod, ut dicis, indignus esses
hoc dixi ; sed quamvis maluissem te apud me retinere, man-
datum tamen sancti Columbse mei 39decessoris profanare non
possum ; per quern Spiritus Sanctus de te prophetavit. 40 Ah'a
41 namque die mihi soli seorsim, sic prophetico profatus ore, inter
16 om. C. F. S. 17 ne C. is Columbus C. F. S.
19 om. C. F. S. 20 migravit ad Christum C.
21 Finten A. 22 Columbus C. F. S. 23 fleverunt F. S.
24 Battheneum C. F. 25 Columbus C. F. S. 2C ait C.
a7 columbum A. C. S. 2s om< c. 20 ^ C. F. S.
30 susceptus est Colg. Boll. 31 intermmcium C. F. S.
32 battheneum C. F. baithenum S. 33 veniebat C.
34 terram C. F. S. ** visus C. 36 battheneo C.
37 et hoc C. 38 om. C. 39 defensoris C.
40 aliqua F. aliaque C. 41 om. C.
116 VITA SANCTI COLUMBJS. LIBER I.
csetera, dixit: Haec mea, 0 42Baithenee, intentius debes audire
verba ; statim namque post meum de hoc ad Christum sseculo
expectatum et valde desideratum transitum, quidam de Scotia
frater, qui nunc, bene juvenilem bonis moribus 43regens aetatem,
sacrse lectionis studiis satis 44imbuitur, nomine Fintenus, 45gente
Mocumoie, cujus pater Tailchanus vocitatur, ad te, inquam, per-
veniens, humiliter expostulabit ut ipsum suscipiens inter
cseteros adnumeres monachos. Sed hoc ei in Dei prsescientia
prsedestinatum non est ut ipse 46alicujus 47abbatis monachus
48fieret ; sed ut monachorum abbas, et animarum dux ad coeleste
regnum, olim electus a Deo est. 49Noles itaque hunc memora-
tum virum in his nostris apud te retinere insulis, ne et Dei
voluntati contraire videaris : sed, hsec ei intimans verba, ad
Scotiam in pace remittas, ut in Laginensium vicinis mari finibus
monasterium construat, et ibidem Christi 50ovinum pascens
gregem, innumeras ad patriam animas coelestem perducat. Hsec
audiens sanctus junior, Christo, lacrymas fun dens, 51agit gratias,
inquiens : Secundum sancti Columbse propheticam fiat mihi et
mirabilem praescientiam. 52Iisdemque 53diebus verbis sanc
torum obtemperans, et a 54Baitheneo accipiens benedictionem, in
pace ad Scotiam 55transnavigat.
56 Hsec mihi quodam narrante religioso sene presbytero,
Christi milite, Oisseneo nomine, Ernani filio, gente Mocu Neth
Corb, indubitanter didici : qui se eadem supra memorata verba
ejusdem ab ore sancti Finteni, filii Tailchani, audisse 57testatus
est, ipsius monachus.
CAP. in. JPtLIO in tempore vir beatus, in mediterranea 2Hibernia3
parte 3monasterium, quod Scotice dicitur 4Dair-mag, divino
fundans nutu, per aliquot 5demoratus menses, libuit animo
visitare fratres qui in 6Clonoensi sancti 7Cerani coenobio com-
manebant. 8Auditoque ejus accessu, universi undique ab agel-
lulis monasterio vicinis cum his qui ibidem inventi sunt
congregati, cum omni alacritate suum consequentes abbatem
42 batthenee C. 43 agens C. 44 imbutus C.
45 ad vocitatur om. C. F. S. * sit. add. S. 47 om. C. F. S.
48 om. S. 49 nolis F. nobis C. 50 ovium C. Colg. Boll.
51 ait F. S. 52 hisdemqne A. F. S. his denique C. Colg. Boll.
63 om. C. 54 battheneo C. M A. transnavigavit Colg. Boll.
56 cetera desiderantur in C. F. S. 57 testatur, Colg.
1 titulum om. C. F. S. Boll. 2 eberniae A.
3 monasteriorum A. 4 dairmagh C. F. S. 5 demoratur C.
6 cloensi C. F. S. 7 cherani S. 8 audito itaque C.
VITA SANCTI COLUMB.E. LIBER I. 117
Alitherum, sancto 9Columb8e, quasi angelo Domini, obviam,
egressi vallum monasterii, 10unanimes pergunt ; humiliatisque
in terram vultibus eo viso, cum omni reverentia exosculatus ab
eis est ; hymnisque et laudibus resonantes, honorifice ad eccle-
siam 11perducunt ; quamdamque de lignis pyramidem erga
sanctum deambulantem constringentes, a quatuor viris seque
ambulantibus supportari fecerunt : ne videlicet sanctus senior
Columba ejusdem fratrum multitudinis constipatione molestare-
tur. Eadem hora quidam valde despectus vultu et habitu, puer
familiaris, et necdum senioribus placens, retro, in quantum
valuit se occultans, accessit, ut videlicet vel illius 12amphibali
fimbriam, quo vir beatus induebatur, occulte, et si fieri possit
ipso nesciente et non sentiente, tangeret. Sed hoc tamen Sanc
tum non latuit, nam quod corporalibus oculis retro se actum in-
tueri non potuit, 13spiritalibus 14perspexit. Unde subito restitit,
et post se extendens manum, cervicem pueri tenet, ipsumque
trahens ante faciem suam statuit. Omnibusque qui ibidem
15circumstabant dicentibus, 16Dimitte, dimitte, quare hunc infe-
licem et 17injuriosum retines puerum ? 18 Sanctus e contra hsec
lspuro pectore verba depromit prophetica, Sinite, fratres, sinite
modo. Ad puerum vero valde tremefactum dicit, 0 fili aperi
os, et porrige linguam. Jussus turn puer, cum ingenti tremore
aperiens os, 20 linguam porrexit ; 21quam Sanctus, sanctam ex
tendens manum, 22diligenter benedicens, ita prophetice profatur,
dicens, Hie puer quamvis vobis nunc 23despicabilis et valde vilis
videatur, nemo tamen ipsum ob id despiciat. Ab hac enim hora
non solum vobis non displicebit, sed valde placebit ; bonisque
moribus, et animae virtutibus paulatim de die in diem crescet :
sapientia quoque et prudentia magis ac magis in eo ab hac die
adaugebitur, et in hac 2*vestracongregatione grandis est futurus
25profectus; lingua quoque ejus salubri 26et doctrina et 27elo-
quentia 28a Deo ^donabitur. Hie erat 30Erneneus, 31 filius
32Craseni, postea per omnes 33Scotise ecclesias famosus.et valde
9 om. C. F. S. 10 unanimiter Colg. Boll. ll perducebant C.
12 anfibali A. F. more Hibernico : sic anfibalo Lib. Armacanfol. 209 a b.
13 A. F. S. spiritualibus C. u A. C. F. S. respexit Colg. Boll.
15 circum astabant F. S. circiter astabant C. 16 dimittite bis C.
17 A. C. F. S. Colg. juniorem Boll.
18.19 ^em sanctus ad fratres suos conversus duro D. priorem partem cap. ii.
ad verbum adeas excipiens. 19 ad sylldbam ro infit B.
20 suum add. C. D. S. a ad add. D. 22 et add. C. D. S.
23 despectibilis D. 24 nostra C. 25 provectus C.
26-2T doctrinal! eloquentia B. 28-29 fulgebit D.
30 A. B. F. S. ereneus C. hylerianus D. 31 om. C. D. F. S.
32 A. B. cresceni Colg. Boll. om. C. D. F. S. 33 hybernie D.
118 VITA SANCTI COLUMB^]. LIBEK I.
uotissimus ; qui haec omnia suprascripta verba 34Segineo abbati
de se prophetata enarraverat, meo 35decessore Failbeo intentius
audiente, qui et ipse cum 34Segineo prsesens 36inerat ; cujus 37re-
velatione et ego ipse cognovi hsec 38eadem quse 39enarravi. Sed
et multa alia 40iisdem diebus quibus in 41Clonoensi coenobio
42Sanctus hospitabatur, revelante prophetavit Sancto Spiritu ;
hoc est, de ilia, 43qu8e post dies multos ob diversitatem Paschalis
festi orta est inter ^Scotise ecclesias, 45discordia: et de quibusdam
^angelicis frequentationibus sibi manifestatis, quibus quaedam
intra ejusdem ccenobii septa ab angelis tune temporis frequenta-
bantur loca.
<San.cti Cainntcht, abbati*, to qua <Sanrttt#
Cxrltimba prrrph.etaUt.er 2pt^nttntiabit.
CAP. iv. 3jp|J_uo 3^ tempore 4cum in 5Ioua insula, die fragosse tem-
pestatis et intolerabilis undarum magnitudinis, sedens in domo
6Sanctus 6et fratribus prsecipiens Miceret, Praeparate ocius
hospitium, aquamque ad lavandos hospitum pedes 8 exhaurite ;
quidam ex ipsis 9frater consequenter, Quis, ait, hac die valde
ventosa et nimis periculosa, licet breve, fretum prospere trans-
navigare potest ? Quo audito Sanctus sic profatur : 10 Cuidam
sancto et electo homini, qui nad nos ante vesperam 12per-
veniet, Omnipotens tranquillitatem, 13quamlibet 14in tempes-
tate, 15donavit. Et ecce, eadem die aliquamdiu a fratribus
expectata navis in qua 16sanctus inerat 17Cainnechus juxta
18Sancti prophetationem pervenit. Cui Sanctus cum fratribus
obviam venit, et ab eo honorifice 19et hospitaliter 20susceptus
est. Illi vero nautse qui cum 21Cainnecho 22inerant, interrogati
a fratribus de qualitate navigationis, sic retulerunt sicuti
34 B. segeneo A. C. F. S. segeno D. 35 successore D.
36 erat D. 37 A. relatione B. C. D. F. S. ™ om. D.
39 narravi D. 40 hisdem A. B. isdem F.
41 A. B. cloensi C. om. D. 42 sancti kierani add. D.
43 discordia D. 44 scothicse C. « om. D. 46 anglicis B.
1 titulum om. C. F. S. hie sequitur in D. iii. 10 hujus edit.
2 pronunciavit B.
3 quodam D. in quo hcec narratio post iii. 16 hujus edit, sequitur.
4 om. D. 5 A. C. iona B. 6 om. D.
7 dixit D. 8 haurite D. 9 A. B. C. fratribus D. Colg. Bolg,
lo.ii qui(jam sanctus et electus homo ad D. 12 veniat D.
13 om. D. 14 ei add. D. 15 donabit C. D. 16 erat add. D.
17 cannechus B. chainnechus C. S. kainnichus D. cainnechus F.
18 om. D. 19 om. D. 20 que add. D.
21 canneclio B. chainnecho C. S. kainnicho D. 22 erant D.
VITA SANCTI COLUMB.E. LIBER I. 119
sanctus Columba prius de tempestate et tranquillitate pariter,
Deo donante, in eodem mari, et 23iisdem horis, mirabili
24divisione prsedixerat; et tempestatem eminus visam non
sensisse profess! sunt.
ymtnlo §anrti 2Coimani tywcoyi, Jftoxujsailni, in mart
juxta insulam qu« bxyritattxr
itidem die sanctus Columba, in sua commanens CAP- v-
matrice ecclesia, repente 3in 3hanc subridens 4erupit 4vocem,
dicens: Columbanus, 5filius 5Beognai, ad nos transnavigare
incipiens, nunc in undosis 6Charybdis 7Brecani sestibus valde
periclitatur ; 8ambasque 9ad coelum, in prora sedens, palmas
elevat; turbatum quoque et 10tam formidabile 11pelagus bene-
dicit : quern tamen Dominus sic tercet, non ut navis naufragio,
in qua ipse 12residet, undis obruatur; sed potius ad 13orandum
intentius suscitetur, ut ad nos, Deo 14propitio, post transvadatum
perveniat periculum.
l^z Cxrrmarxr.
JSL.LIO quoque 2 in tempore 3de Cormaco, 4nepote 4Lethani, CAP-
viro utique sancto, 5qui tribus non minus vicibus eremum in
oceano laboriose quaesivit, nee tamen invenit, 6sanctus Columba
ita 7prophetizans ait: Hodie iterum 8Cormacus, desertum
reperire cupiens, enavigare incipit ab ilia regione quse, ultra
9Modam fluvium 10sita, 1:lEirros Domno dicitur; nee tamen
etiam hac vice quod quserit inveniet; et non ob aliam ejus
culpam nisi quod alicujus religiosi abbatis monachum, ipso non
permittente, 12discessorem secum non recte comitari, navigio
13 susceperit.
23 hisdem A. B. ^ A. B. C. F. S. visione syllaha prlma erasa D.
1 tttul om. C. D. P. S. Boll. 2 colurnbani B. 3 om. B.
4 in hac voce erupit D. 5 om. C. D. F. S.
6 earubdis A. caribdis B. D. F. 7 om. C. D. F. S.
8 abbasque C. 9 in F. S. 10 om. D.
11 pilagus A. pelagum D. la resedit C. sedit D. 13 adorandiim D.
14 propitiante D.
1 tltul om. C. D. F. S. Boll. 2 om. D.
3-° s. columba prophetizans de viro utique sancto cormaco qui D.
4 om. C. D. F. S. 6-7 om. D. 8 cormac A. coriuaccus B.
9 modan B. modum D. 10 sita est C. D. ll et cirros C. sirros S.
12 discessurum S. 13 suscepit D.
120 VITA SANCTI COLUMILE. LIBER I.
fragoribus ion^t £0mmi000rum
toiri.
CAP. vil. OST bellum Cule Drebene, sicut nobis traditum est,
duobus transactis annis, quo tempore vir beatus de 2 Scotia
peregrinaturus primitus enavigavit, quadam die, hoc est, eadem
hora qua in 2Scotia commissum est bellum quod Scotice dicitur
30ndemone, idem homo Dei coram Conallo rege, filio Comgill,
in 4 Brittannia conversatus, per omnia enarravit, tarn de bello
commisso, quam etiam de illis regibus quibus Dominus de
inimicis victoriam condonavit : quorum propria vocabula 5Ain-
morius filius 6Setni, et duo filii Maic Erce, Domnallus et
Torcus. Sed et de rege Cruithniorum, qui 8Echodius Laib
vocitabatur, quemadmodum victus, currui insidens evaserit,
similiter Sanctus prophetizavit.
2Jttiathxn:um.
J/9LLIO in tempore, 4hoc 4est 5post multos 6a supra memorata
7 bello annorum transcursus, cum esset vir sanctus 8in 9Ioua
insula, subito ad suum dicit ministratorem 10 Diormitium,
11Cloccam pulsa. Cujus sonitu fratres incitati ad ecclesiam,
ipso sancto prsesule prseeunte, ocius 12currunt. Ad quos ibidem
flexis genibus infit: Nunc intente pro 13hoc populo uet 15Aidano
rege 16Dominum oremus; hac enim hora ineunt bellum. Et
post modicum intervallum egressus oratorium, respiciens in
coelum inquit, Nunc barbari in fugam vertuntur ; 17Aidanoque,
quamlibet 18infelix, 19tamen concessa victoria est. Sed et de
numero de exercitu 20Aidani interfectorum, trecentorum et
trium virorum, vir beatus prophetice 21 enarravit.
1 capitulum totum desideratur in C. D. F. S. 2 scocia B.
3 A. B. Ussher (Opp. vi. 236). ondemon Fordun (ill 26). monamoire
Colg. Boll. 4 bryttannia B. 5 amnorius B.
6 scetni B. 7 A. B. fergus Colg. Boll. 8 echuiuslaid B.
1 titul. om. C. D. F. S. 2 maychorum. Fordun iii. 38.
3 hanc narrat. capiti v. subnectunt C. D. F. S. 4 om. D.
5 idem add. D. 6-7 om. C. D. F. S. 8 columba add. D.
9 iona B. D. 10 dermitium A. uermicium B. om. C. D. F. S.
11 clocam A. cloccum D. 12 cucurrerunt D. 13-14 om. B. D.
15 aedano D. aldano C. 16 populoque suo add. D.
17 aedano D. aldano C. 18 infelici C. D. regi add. D. 19 om. D.
20 aedani D. aldani C. ai narravit B. C. D. F. S.
VITA SANCTI COLUMB.E. LIBEK I. 121
iis Jltb&nt 8^3** §&\\di C0ltimb& proplutia.
2in tempore ante supra dictum bellum Sanctus 3Aid- CAP. vm.
anum regem 4interrogat de regni successore. Illo se respon-
dente nescire quis esset de tribus filiis suis regnaturus, 5Arturius,
an 6Echodius Find, an 'Domingartus, Sanctus consequenter hoc
profatur modo : Nullus ex his tribus erit 8regnator; nam in
bellis cadent ab inimicis trucidandi : sed nunc si alios juniores
habes ad me veniant, et quern ex eis elegerit Dominus regem,
subito super meum irruet gremium. Quibus 9accitis, secundum
verbum Sancti 10Echodius 11Buide adveniens in sinu ejus
recubuit. Statimque Sanctus eum 12osculatus benedixit, et ad
patrem ait : Hie est superstes, et rex post te regnaturus, et filii
ejus post eum regnabunt. 13Sic omnia 14post, suis temporibus,
plene adimpleta sunt. Nam 15Arturius et Echodius 16Find,
non longo post temporis intervallo, 17Miatorum superius memo-
rato in bello, trucidati sunt. Domingartus vero in Saxonia
bellica in strage interfectus est : 18Echodius 19auteni 19Buide
post patrem in regnurn successit.
filter Jttbxr.
2J1^0MNALLUS filius 3Aido, adhuc puer, ad sanctum Col-
umbam 4in Dorso 6Cete per nutritores adductus est: quem
intuens percunctatur inquiens, Cujus est filius hie quem addux-
istis ? Illis respondentibus, Hie est 2Domnallus 6 filius 7Aido,
qui ad te ideo perductus est, ut tua 8redeat benedictione 9ditatus.
Quem cum Sanctus benedixisset, continue ait, Hie 10post super
omnes suos fratres superstes erit, net rex valde famosus; nee
unquam in manus inimicorum tradetur, sed morte placida, in
senectute, et intra domum suam, corarn amicorum familiarium
1 lituL om. C. D. F. S. Boll, in quibus tenor cap. v. continuatur.
2 quoque C. D. om. F. 3 aedanum D. aldanum C.
4 interrogavit D. & arctirius B. ad 7 om. C. D. F. S.
6 A. B. eochodius Colg. Boll. » A. B. domangarthus Colg. Boll.
8 rex D. regnaturus C. F. S. 9 accersitis D.
10 A. B. euchodius C. D. F. S. eochodius Colg. Boll.
11 A. B. buidhe Colg. Boll. om. C. D. F. S. 12 osculans B.
13 hec D. i* postea D. 15 ad sunt om. C. D. F. S.
16 fint A. 17 micitorum B.
18 et euchodius C. F. S. euchodius D. 19 om. C. D. F. S.
1 titul. om. ; capit. numerator vi. in C. D. F. S. Boll.
2 donaldus D. 3 aeda D< 4.5 om> c> D< p, g.
6-7 om. C. in marg. D. 7 aeda D. 8 om. D.
8 ditatis A. ditatur D. 10 om. C. D. F. S. u om. D.
122 VITA SANCTI COLUMB^E. LIBER I.
turba, super 12suum morietur 13lectum. QUSQ omnia secundum
beati vaticinium viri de eo vere adimpleta sunt.
# iio OMmani.
JH..ODEM tempore Sanctus, et in eodem loco, ad 2Scandlanum,
filium Colmani, apud 3Aidum regem in vinculis retentum,
visitare eum cupiens, pergit ; ipsumque cum benedixisset, con-
fortans ait : Fili, 4nolis contristari, sed potius Isetare et confor-
tare : 5Aidus enim rex, apud quern vinculatus es, de hoc mundo
te prsecedet ; et, post aKqua exilii tempora, triginta annis in
gente tua rex regnaturus 6es. Iterumque de regno effugaberis,
et per 7 aliquot 8exulabis dies; post quos, a populo reinvitatus,
per tria regnabis brevia tempora. Quse cuncta juxta vaticina-
tionem Sancti plene expleta sunt. Nam post triginta arinos
de regno expulsus, per aliquod 9exulavit spatium temporis : sed
post a populo reinvitatus, non, ut putabat, tribus annis, sed
ternis regnavit mensibus ; post quos continue obiit.
tupxrto
@ra ti
Jxrmnail, tott 5pt0phetatt^ biri.
,J9LLIO in tempore, per asperam et saxosam regionem iter
faciens, quse dicitur 6Artdamuirchol, et suos audiens comites
Laisranum utique, filium Feradachi, et, 7Diormitium ministra-
torem, de duobus supra memoratis regibus in via sermocinari,
hsec ad eos verba depromit : 0 filioli quare inaniter de his sic
confabulamini ? nam illi ambo reges, de quibus nunc sermo-
cinamini, nuper ab inimicis decapitati disperierunt. In hac
quoque die aliqui de Scotia adventantes nautae hsec eadem
vobis de illis indicabunt regibus. Quod venerabilis viri vati
cinium eadem die de 8Hibernia navigatores, ad locum qui
dicitur Muirbolc Paradisi pervenientes, supra scriptis ejus binis
comitibus, et in eadem navi cum Sancto navigantibus, de
9iisdem interfectis regibus expletum retulerunt.
12 stratum add. D. 1S ad Jin. cap. om. D.
1 titul. om. C. D. F. S. Boll, in quibus tenor cap. vi. continuatur.
2 scandalanum C. 3 aedum D. 4 noles A. noli C. D. F. S.
5 aedus D. 6 eris C. D. 7 aliquos C. D. F. S.
8 exsolabis A. eiulabis C. 9 exsolavit A.
1 omnia ad cap. 16 om. C. D. F. S. 2 muirethachi B.
3 maicerce B. 4 euchudius B. 5 proj)hetia B.
0 ardamuircol B. 7 dermitium A. 8 evernia A. 9 hisdem A^
VITA SANCTI COLUMB.E. LIBER I. 123
10 Jl.e <S)irajtt0tu ftlio Jlibtf &xmtm&ni <Sanrti prxrphetia biri.
namque de patria cum aliis duobus fratribus effugatus,
ad Sanctum in Britannia peregrinantem exul venit; cuique
benedicens, haec de eo prophetizans sancto promit de pectore
verba : Hie juvenis, defunctis ejus ceteris fratribus superstes
remanens, multo est regnaturus in patria tempore ; et inimici
ejus coram ipso cadent ; nee tainen ipse unquam in manus tra-
detur inimicorum ; sed morte placida, senex, inter amicos mori-
etur. Quse omnia juxta Sancti verbum plene sunt adimpleta.
Hie est u Oingusius cujus cognomentum Bronbachal.
bzzii 2biri fa ftlio l^rmiti lU^i* xjm Jltbu* <Slan£
lingua nxrminato zst 3<Sr0tira.
.JH-LIO in tempore, cum vir beatus in 4 Scotia per aliquot de-
moraretur dies, ad supradictum Aidum, ad se venientem, sic
prophetice locutus ait, Prsecavere debes, 5fili, ne tibi a Deo totius
6 Hibernise regni prserogativam monarchic prsedestinatam, parri-
cidali faciente peccato, amittas : nam si quandoque illud com-
miseris, non toto patris regno, sed ejus aliqua parte in gente
tua, brevi "* frueris tempore. Quse verba Sancti sic sunt expleta
secundum ejus vaticinationem. Nam post Suibneum filium
Columbani dolo ab eo interfectum, non plus, ut fertur, quam
quatuor annis et tribus mensibus regni concessa 8potitus est
9 parte.
ttlio 2c10thaU, xjut 3in fttra Cioithe rejjnabit,
beatt totri
idem in tempore 4hic, ut erat sancti viri amicus, ali-
quam ad eum occultam per Lugbeum Mocumin legationem
misit, scire volens si ab inimicis esset trucidandus, an non. At
vero Lugbeus, a Sancto 5 interrogate de eodem rege, et regno,
et populo, 6et respondens, quasi misertus, dicit, Quid de illo
inquiris misero, qui qua hora ab inimicis occidatur, nullo modo
7 scire potest ? Sanctus turn deinde profatur, Nunquam in
10 capitul. totum om. C. D. F. S. titulum om. Boll. 1! oingussius A.
1 capit. totum om. C. D. F. S. tltul. om. Boll.
!-2 voci scotica inferius subsequuntur B. 3 scottica B.
4 scocia B. 5 filii A. 6 B. everniae A.
7 finieris B. 8-9 pocius est parce B.
1 capit. totum om. C. D. F. S. tltul. om. Boll. 2 totail B.
3 om. B. .4 om. B. 5 intergatus B.
6 ejus B. 7 sciri B.
124 VITA SANCTI COLUMB.E. LIBER I.
maims tradetur inimicorum, sed in sua, super plumatiunculam,
morietur domo. Quod Sancti de rege Koderco vaticinium plene
adimpletum est : nam juxta verbum ejus 8in domo sua morte
placida obiit.
pttm0, q&ontm nnn#, jtweta berbttm <Sancti, in
hebbfltnabis obiit, prxrplutia sancti.
CAP. IX. 2^H_LIO in tempore duo 8quidam 4plebei ad Sanctum 5in
6Ioua commorantem insula 7deveniunt; quorum unus, 8Meldanus
9nomine, de filio suo qui preesens erat Sanctum interrogat, quid
ei esset futurum. Cui Sanctus sic profatur : Nonne sabbati dies
hodierna est ? filius tuus sexta feria, in fine morietur septimanse,
octavaque die, hoc est, sabbato, hie sepelietur. Alter proinde
plebeus, 10 nomine 11Glasdercus, et ipse de filio quern ibidem
secum habuit nihilominus interrogans, talem Sancti audit re-
sponsionem : Filius tuus 12Ernanus suos videbit nepotes et in
hac insula senex sepelietur. Quse omnia, secundum verbum
Sancti, de pueris ambobus, suis plene temporibus sunt expleta.
1 Je 2CoLd0, Jlibtf JBraijjntrhx fflirr, a nspxrttbius 3Jftchur.eg
(Drier; ti be jqnobam occnito JEatri^ tjw peaatxr, prxr-
yhetia ^anrti.
CAP. x. jflL.LIO in tempore, supramemoratum Colgium, apud se in
4 loua commorantem insula, Sanctus de sua interrogat genitrice,
si esset religiosa, an non. Cui ipse inquiens ait, Bene moratam,
et bonse famse, meam novi matrem. Sanctus turn sic prophetice
profatur, Mox, Deo volente, ad 5Scotiam profectus, matrem dili-
gentius de quodam suo pergrandi peccato interroga occulto,
quod nulli hominum confiteri vult. Qui, hsec audiens, obsecu-
tus, ad 6 Hiberniam emigravit. Proinde mater, ab eo studiose
interrogata, quamlibet primule infitiens, tamen suum confessa
est peccatum, et juxta Sancti 7 judicationem, pcenitudinem agens,
sanata, de se quod Sancto manifestation est valde mirata est.
8 om. B. l titul om. C. D. F. S. Boll.
2 cap. vL continuatur C. D. F. S. 3 om. C. 4 plebeii F. S.
6 columbam add. D. 6 iona B. C. D. 7 veniunt D.
8 ineUanus D. 9 om. D. 10-n om. C. D. F. S.
11 A. glasdercis B. 12 om. C. D. F. S.
1 omnia ad cap. 19 om. C. B. F. S. 2 colgio B.
3 A. B. 4 ioua B. 5 scociam B.
6 B. everniam A. 7 A. B. indicatiouem Boll.
VITA SANCTI COLUMB^E. LIBERT. 125
vero, ad Sanctum reversus, per aliquot dies apud CAP- XI-
eum commoratus, de fine sui interrogans temporis, hoc a Sancto
audit responsum : In tua, quam amas, patria primarius alicujus
ecclesise per multos eris annos ; et si forte aliquando tuum
videris pincernam in crena 8amicorum ludentem, 9hauritorium-
que in gyro per collum torquentem, scito te mox in brevi
moriturum. Quid plura ? Hsec eadem beati viri prophetatio
sic per omnia est adimpleta, quemadmodum de Colgio eodem est
prophetata.
2hxrrittlaricr,
"^ii IR beatus quemdam de suis monachum nomine Trenanum, CAP. XII.
gente Mocuruntir, legatum ad Scotiam exire quadam prsecipit
die. Qui, hominis Dei obsecutus jussioni, navigationem parat
festinus ; unumque sibi deesse navigatorem coram Sancto queri-
tur. Sanctus haec consequenter, eidem respondens, sacro pro-
mit de pec tore verba, dicens, 3Nautam, quern tibi non adhuc
suppetisse dicis, nunc invenire non possum. Yade in pace : us-
quequo ad 4Hiberniam pervenias prosperos et secundos habebis
flatus. Quemdamque obvium videbis hominem eminus occur-
surum, qui primus prse ceteris navis proram tuse tenebit in
Scotia, hie erit comes tui 5itineris per aliquot in 6Hibernia dies ;
teque inde revertentem ad nos usque comitabitur, vir a Deo
electus, qui in hoc meo monasterio per omne reliquum tempus
bene conversabitur. Quid plura ? Trenanus, accipiens a Sancto
benedictionem, plenis velis per omnia transmeavit maria : et,
ecce, appropinquanti ad portum naviculae Laisranus Mocumoie,
citior ceteris, occurrit, tenetque proram. Nautae recognoscunt
ipsum esse de quo Sanctus prsedixerat.
iixerat.
die, cum vir 3venerabilis in 4Ioua demoraretur CAP. XIII.
5insula, quidam frater, Berachus nomine, ad Ethicam proponens
insulam navigare, ad Sanctum mane accedens, ab eo benedici
6postulat. Quern Sanctus 7intuitus, inquit, 0 fili hodie intentius
prsecaveto ne Ethicam cursu ad terram directo per latius coneris
8 amico cum vitiose Pinkert. 9 auritoriumque A. B.
1 capitul. totum om. C. D. F. S. titul. om. Boll. 2 ortholano B.
3 nauta A. B. 4 eberniam A. 5 iteris A. 6 ebernia A.
1 capitul. totum om. C. D. F. S. titul. om. Boll.
2 quo B. 3 columba add. D. * iona B. D.
4 sua add. D. 6 postulavit D. 7 intuens D.
120 VITA SANCTI COLUMB^E. LIBER I.
transmeare pelagus; sed potius, circumiens, minores secus
naviges insulas ; ne videlicet, 8aliquo monstruoso perterritus
prodigio, vix inde possis evadere. Qui, a Sancto accepta bene-
dictione, secessit, et navem 9coriscendens, Sancti verbum quasi
parvipendens, 10transgreditur ; majora nproinde 12Ethici trans-
means spatia pelagi, ipse et qui ibi 13inerant nautae vident, et
ecce cetus mirae et immensae magnitudinis, 14se instar mentis
erigens, ora aperuit patula nimis dentosa, supernatans. 15Tum
proinde remiges, deposito velo, valde perterriti, 16retro 17reversi,
illam obortam ex belluino motu fluctuationem vix evadere
potuerunt, Sanctique verbum recognoscentes propheticum, ad-
mirabantur. Eadem quoque die 18Sanctus 19Baitheneo, ad supra
memoratam insulam navigaturo, mane de eodem intimavit ceto,
inquiens, Hac praeterita nocte media, cetus magnus de profundo
maris se 20sublevavit, et inter 21Iouam et Ethicam insulam se
hodie in superficiem 22eriget aequoris. Cui ^Baitheneus respon-
dens infit, Ego et ilia bellua sub Dei potestate sumus. Sanc-
tus, Vade, ait, in pace, fides tua in Christo te ab hoc defendet
periculo. 23Baitheneus 24tum deinde, a Sancto benedictione
accepta, a portu 25enavigat : transcursisque non parvis ponti
spatiis, ipse et socii cetum aspiciunt ; perterritisque omnibus,
ipse solus sequor et cetum, 26ambabus manibus elevatis, benedicit
intrepidus. Eodemque momento bellua magna, ^se sub 28fluctus
immergens, nusquam deinceps eis apparuit.
1 ib qtuxbam ^aitan0, rjtti rum tdmz IbtsMinm marinum
«y^ten0 enabigato^rat, sandi ptxryh^tia toiri,
CAP. xiv. JStLIO in tempore quidam Baitanus, gente Nepos 2Math
Taloirc, benedici a Sancto petivit, cum ceteris in mari eremum
quiesiturus. Cui valedicens Sanctus hoc de ipso propheticum
protulit verbum, Hie homo, qui ad quaerendum in oceano
desertum pergit, non in deserto conditus jacebit; sed illo in
loco sepelietur ubi oves femina trans sepulcrum ejus minabit.
Idem itaque Baitanus, post longos per ventosa circuitus sequora,
eremo non reperta, ad patriam re versus, multis ibidem annis
8 alio C.
9 ascendens C. D.
10 ingreditnr D.
11 deinde D.
12 aethici A.
13 erant D.
14 am. D.
15 cum D.
16-17 retroversi C.
18 sancto F.
19 baitheno S.
20 sullivavit B.
21 ionam B. D.
22 erigit B.
23 baithenus F.
24 tune beatus D.
25 enavigavit C.
26 ambis A. F. S.
27 om. D.
28 fluctibus C. D. F.
1 capitulum totmn om. C. D. F. S. titulum om. Boll. 2 mathaloire B.
VITA SANCTI COLUMB^:. LIBER I. 127
cujusdam cellulse dominus 3permansit, quse Scotice Lathre-
ginden dicitur. 4Iisdemque diebus accidit, 6quibus, post aliqua
mortuus tempora, sepultus est in Eoboreto 6 Calgachi, ut propter
hostilitatis incursum vicina ad ejusdem loci ecclesiam plebecula
cum mulieribus et parvulis confugeret. Unde contigit ut qua-
darn die mulier deprehenderetur aliqua, quae suas per ejusdem
viri sepulcrum nuper sepulti oviculas minabat. Et umis ex his
qui viderant sanctus sacerdos dixit, Nunc prophetia sancti Col-
umbae expleta est, multis prius divulgata annis. Qui utique
supra memoratus presbyter mihi haec de Baitano enarrans
retulit, Mailodranus nomine, Christi miles, gente 7Mocurin.
8 Jle Jfrmatwr xptofoam # do pxmitete 0andi ptoyh^tattxr btri
in tempore Sanctus ad Hinbinam insulam pervenit, CAP- xv-
eademque die ut etiam poenitentibus aliqua praecipit cibi con-
solatio indulgeretur. Erat autem ibi inter poenitentes quidam
Nemanus, filius Cathir, qui, a Sancto jussus, renuit oblatam
accipere consolatiunculam. Quern Sanctus his compellat verbis,
0 Nemane, a me et Baitheneo indultam non recipis aliquam
refectionis indulgentiam ? Erit tempus quo cum 9 furacibus
furtive carnem in sylva manducabis equae. Hie idem itaque,
postea ad saeculum reversus, in saltu cum furibus talem come-
dens carnem, juxta verbum Sancti, de 10craticula sumptam
lignea, inventus est.
ini did qtuxbam xjui cum 0tia b0rmibit
2in tempore fratres 3intempesta nocte 4suscitat Sanctus, CAr- XVL
ad quos in ecclesia congregates dicit, Nunc Dominum intentius
precemur ; nam hac in hora aliquod inauditum in mundo pec-
catum perpetratum est, pro quo valde 5 timenda judicialis est
vindicta. De quo peccato crastino die, aliquibus paucis per-
cunctantibus, intimavit 6inquiens, Post paucos menses cum
7 Lugaido nesciente infelix ille homuncio ad 8 louam perveniet
insulam. 9Alia itaque die Sanctus ad 10Diormitium, interjectis
3 remansit B. 4 hisdemque A. 6 qui B.
<! B. calcagi A. 7 mocucurin B.
8 capitulum totum om. C. D. F. S. titulum om. Boll 9 furantibus B.
10 graticula A. 1 titul. om. C. D. F. S. Boll. 2 qnoque D.
3 in tempesta B. 4 suscitavit D. 5 tremenda C.
6 dicens C. D. * lugido D. 8 A. C. F. S. ionam B.
alio C. 10 A. B. F. S. diarmatum D. iormitium C.
128 VITA SAXCTI COLUMB.E. LIBER I.
quibusdam mensibus, praecipiens nprofatur, Surge citius, ecce
12 Lugaidus appropinquat, 13 dicque ei ut miserum quern secum
in navi habet in Maleam propellat insulam, ne hujus insulae
cespitem calcet. Qui, praecepto Sancti obsecutus, ad mare
pergit. 14Lugaidoque adventanti omnia Sancti prosequitur de
infelici viro verba. Quibus auditis ille infelix juravit nunquam
se cibum cum aliis accepturum nisi prius sanctum videret
Columbam, 15.eumque alloqueretur. Quae infelicis verba 16Dior-
mitius, ad Sanctum reversus, retulit. Quibus compertis
Sanctus ad portum perrexit, Baitheneoque, prolatis sacrae Scrip-
turae testimoniis, 17suggerenti ut miseri pcenitudo susciperetur,
Sanctus consequenter inquit, 0 18Baithenee, hie homo 19fra-
tricidium in modum perpetravit 20Cain, et cum sua matre
moechatus est. Turn 21deiride miser in litore flexis genibus
leges poenitentiae expleturum se promisit, juxta Sancti 22judi-
cationem. Cui Sanctus ait, Si duodecim annis inter Brittones
cum fletu et lacrymis poenitentiam egeris, nee ad 23Scotiam
usque ad mortem reversus fueris, 24forsan Deus peccato ignoscat
tuo. Haec dicens Sanctus, ad suos 25conversus, 26dicit, Hie
homo films est perditionis, qui quam promisit pcenitentiam non
explebit; sed mox ad 27Scotiam revertetur, ibique in brevi ab
inimicis interficiendus peribit. Quae omnia secundum Sancti
prophetiam ita contigerunt: nam miser 28iisdem diebus ad
29Hiberniam reversus, in 30regione quae 31vocitatur 32Lea, in
manus incidens inimicorum trucidatus est. 33Hic de Nepotibus
Turtrei 34erat.
»5c I toxrrali litera.
CAP. xvil. (§^UADAM die Baitheneus, ad Sanctum accedens, ait, Necesse
habeo ut aliquis de fratribus mecum Psalterium quod scripsi
percurrens emendet. Quo audito, Sanctus sic profatur, Cur
hanc super nos infers sine causa molestiam ? nam in tuo hoc,
de quo dicis, Psalterio nee una superflua reperietur litera, nee
alia deesse, excepta I vocali, quae sola deest. Et sic, toto 2per-
11 prsefatur C. 12 lugidus D. 13 dicitque C.
14 lugido D. 15 eique D. 16 diermitius A. dormitius B. diarmatius D.
17 suggerente D. 18 baithine D. 19 patricidium D.
20 chain B. 21 A. B. F. S. deimim C.
22 A. B. D. F. S. indicationem C. 23 hiberniam D.
24 forsitan D. F. 25 om. D. 26 ait D.
27 hiberniam D. 28 hisdem A. B. 29 everniam A.
30 regionem D. 31 vocatur D. Boll. 32 14a B. leo D.
s3-34 om. C. D. F. S.
1 capitulum totum om. C. D. F. S. titulum om. Boll. 2 perfecto B.
VITA SANCTI COLUMB^E. LIBER I. 129
lecto Psalterio, sicuti Sanctus praedixerat repertum exploratum
est.
l*§t iibnr in Jtxjuaiittm Ito &mctw siciiti
cwbmtz.
CSitTADAM itidem die, ad focum in monasterio sedens, videt rcrAP-
Lugbeum, gente Mocumin, eminus librum legentem, cui repente
ait, Praecave, fili, praecave, sestimo enim quod quern lectitas liber
in aquae plenum sit casurus vasculum. Quod mox ita contigit :
nam ille supra memoratus juvenis, post aliquod breve inter-
vallum, ad aliquam consurgeus in monasterio ministrationem,
verbi oblitus beati viri, libellus, quern sub 2ascella negligentius
inclusit, subito in 3hydriam aqua repletam cecidit.
ijle dteraatlxr atrautentt inaniter fceftt&cr.
inter haec die ultra fretum 2Iouae insulaa clamatum CAP. xix.
est : quern Sanctus sedens in 3tuguriolo tabulis suffulto audiens
clamoreni dicit, Homo qui ultra clamitat fretum non est subtilis
sensus, nam hodie mei corniculum atramenti inclinans effundet.
Quod verbum ejus minis trat or Diormitius audiens, paulisper
ante januam stans, 4gravem expectabat 5superventurum hos-
pitem, ut corniculum defenderet. Sed alia mox faciente causa,
inde recessit; etpost ejus recessum hospes molestus supervenit,
Sanctumque osculandum appetens, ora vestimenti inclinatum
effudit atramenti corniculum.
J3LLIO itidem tempore Sanctus 2die tertiae feriae fratribus sic CAP. xx.
profatus est, Crastina quarta feria jejunare proponimus, sed
tamen, superveniente quodam molesto hospite, consuetudin-
arium solvetur jejunium. Quod ita ut Sancto praeostensum est
3accidit : nam mane eadem quarta feria, alius ultra fretum
clamitabat proselytus, Aidanus nomine, filius Fergnoi, qui, ut
1 capitulum Mum om. C. D. F. S. titulum om. Boll.
2 axilla Boll. 3 ydriam A. et capitulationibus p. 10 supra ; fossam B.
1 capitulum totum om. C. D. F. S. titulus deest in Boll.
2 A. ione B. 3 tegoriolo A. tugurriolo B. 4 gravamen B.
5 super venturum B.
1 capitulum totum om. C. D. F. S. titulum om. Boll.
2 om. Colg. Boll. ;J accedit A.
I
130 VITA SANCTI COLUMN. LIBER I.
fertur, duodecim annis Brendeno ministravit Mocualti; vir
valde religiosus, qui, ut advenit, ejusdem diei, juxta verbum
Sancti, jejunationem solvit.
^e aliquxr mt0erabiU toinr .qm ttltra sttpraMrttim damitabat
Jfr^tum.
CAP. xxi. dfilJADAM quoque die, quemdam ultra fretum audiens
clamitantem, Sanctus hoc profatur modo: Valde miserandus
est ille clamitans homo, qui, aliqua ad carnalia medicamenta
petiturus pertinentia, ad nos venit : cui opportunius erat veram
de peccatis hodie poenitudinem gerere ; nam in hujus fine hebdo-
madis morietur. Quod verbum qui inerant prsesentes advenienti
misero intimavere. Sed ille parvipendens, acceptis quse popos-
cerat, citius recessit ; et, secundum Sancti propheticum verbum,
ante fin em ejusdem septimanse mortuus est.
dbitate ignt #ntteta oelito prcrla;p0.a
irmnbttsta 0andi toiri :prxrpltetia.
CAP. xxn. J^L~LIO itidem in tempore, 2Lugbeus 3gente 4Mocumin, cujus
supra mentionem fecimus, quadam ad Sanctum die post frugum
veniens triturationem, nullo modo ejus faciem intueri potuit,
miro superfusam rubore ; valdeque pertimescens cito aufugit.
Quern Sanctus complosis 5paulum manibus 6revocat. Qui
reversus, a Sancto statim interrogatus cur ocius aufugisset,
hoc dedit responsum, Ideo fugi quia nimis pertimui. Et post
aliquod modicum intervallum, fiducialius agens, audet Sanctum
interrogare, inquiens, Numquid hac in hora tibi aliqua formid-
abilis ostensa visio 7est? Cui Sanctus 8talem dedit 9respon-
sionem : Tarn terrifica ultio nunc in remota orbis parte peracta
est. Qualis, ait juvenis, vindicta, et in qua regione facta ?
Sanctus turn sic profatur: Sulfurea de ccelo flamma super
Eomani juris civitatem, intra Italise terminos sitam, hac hora
effusa est; triaque ferme millia virorum, excepto 10matrum
puerorumque numero disperierunt. Et antequam praesens
11 finiatur annus, 12 Gallici nautae, de Galliarum provinciis
adventantes, hsec eadem tibi 13enarrabunt. Quse verba post
1 capit. totum om. C. D. F. S. tit-til om. Boll.
1 titul. om. C. p. F. S. Boll. 2 lugidus D. 3-4 om> Ci jy F g
4 B. moccumin A. 6 paululum B. C. D. F. S. 6 revocavit D
7 erat C. 8 A. B. F. S. tale C. D.
0 A. B. F. S. responsum C. D. 10 mulierum D.
11 A. B. F. 12 gallice B. 13 narrabunt D.
VITA SANCTI COLUMB^E. LIBER I. 131
aliquot menses veridica fttisse sunt comprobata. Nam idem
14Lugbeus, sinrul cum sancto 15viro ad Caput Eegionis pergens,
nauclerum et nautas 16 adventantis 17barc8e interrogans, sic
omnia 18illa de civitate cum civibus ab eis 19audit enarrata,
quemadmodum a prsedicabili viro sunt prsedicta.
1 Jl* JJaitfrantf ftiio Jf,erafca,chi toati toi*icr bin.
{SETTADAM brumali et valde frigida die Sanctus, 3magno CAP.
molestatus mserore, flevit. Quern suns minis trator 4Diormitius, xxin.
de causa interrogans msestitise, hoc ab eo responsum 5accepit,
Non immerito, 0 filiole, ego hac in hora contristor, meos videns
monachos, quos 6Laisranus nunc gravi fatigatos labore in
alicujus majoris domus fabrica molestat ; 7quse mihi valde 8dis-
plicet. Mirum dictu ! eodem momento horse 9Laisranus, habi-
tans in monasterio 10Eoboreti Campi, quodammodo coactus, et
quasi quadam pyra intrinsecus succensus, jubet monachos
a labore cessare, aliquamque cibationum consolationem nprse-
parari ; et non solum in eadem die otiari, sed 12et in ceteris
asperse tempestatis diebus requiescere. Quse verba ad fratres
consolatoria, a 13Laisrano dicta, Sanctus in spiritu audiens flere
cessavit, et mirabiliter gavisus ipse in 14Ioua insula commanens,
fratribus, qui ad prsesens 15inerant, per omnia enarravit, et
16Laisranum 17monachorum benedixit consolatorem.
bam, ab tobzm pr^nundat«0, bentt.
3in tempore Sanctus, in cacumine sedens montis qui CAP
nostro 4huic monasterio eminus supereminet, ad suum minis-
tratorem 5Diormitium<i conversus, 6profatus est, dicens, Miror
quare tardius appropinquat qusedam de Scotia navis, quse
quemdam advehit sapientem virum, qui in quodam facinore
14 Ingidus D. 15 om< D 10 adventantes D.
17 A. barce B. parce.C. al parce F. in mary. 1S om. B.
19 audivit D. om. F.
1 tilul. om. C. D. F. S. Boll. 2 cap. ix. continuant C. D. F. S.
3 columba add. D. 4 diarmatus D. 5 accipit A.
6 lasreanus D. 7 A. B. quod C. D. F. S.
8 A. C. D. S. displicent E. F. Colg. Boll. <J lasreanus D.
10 campi roborete D. n prwstare D. l2 om. D.
13 lasreano D. " A. S. iona B. D. 15 erant D.
10 lasreanum D. 1? A. B. monachum C. F. S. om. D.
1 titul. om. C. D. F. S. Boll. 2 viro add. B. 3 om. D.
4 om. C. 5 diarmatuin D. 6 profatur B.
132 VITA SANCTI COLUMB^. LIBERT.
lapsus, lacrymosam gerens pcenitudinem, mox adveniet. Post
7proinde haud 7grande intervallum ad austrum prospiciens
minister, velum navis videt ad portum 8propinquantis. 9Quam
cum Sancto adventantem demonstraret, cito 10surgit, inquiens,
Eamus proselyto obviam, cujus veram Christus nsuscipit
poenitentiam. At vero 12Feachnaus, de navi descendens, Sancto
ad portum pervenienti obvius occurrit ; cum fletu et lamento,
ante pedes ejus ingeniculans flexis genibus, amarissime ingemuit,
et coram omnibus qui ibidem 13inerant 14peccantias 15confitetur
16suas. Sanctus 17tum, cum eo pariter illacrymatus, ad eum ait,
Surge fili, et consolare ; dimissa sunt tua quse commisisti pecca-
mina; quia, 18sicut scriptum est,19Cor contritum et humiliatum
Deus non 20spemit. Qui surgens, gaudenter a Sancto susceptus,
ad 21Baitheneum tune temporis in Campo 22 Lunge prsepositum
commorantem, post aliquot est emissus dies, in pace commigrans.
l^z Cailtarar .ejtt0 m0narh0 0anrti ptxrplutattxr bin.
CAP. xxv. JpUjJO 2in tempore binos mittens monachos ad suum alium
monachum, nomine 3 Cailtanum, qui eodem tempore prsepositus
erat in cella 4quse hodieque ejus fratris Diuni vocabulo voci-
tatur, stagno adhserens Abse 5fluminis, hsec per eosdem nuncios
Sanctus commendat verba : Cito euntes ad 3 Cailtanum prope-
rate, 6dicitoteque ei ut ad me sine ulla veniat morula. Qui
verbo Sancti obsecuti exeuutes, et ad cellam 7 Diuni pervenientes,
suae legatiunculse qualitatem 8Cailtano intimaverunt. Qui
eadem hora, nullo demoratus modo, Sancti prosecutus legatos,
ad eum in 9Ioua insula commorantem, 10eorum itineris comes,
celeriter pervenit. Quo viso, Sanctus ad eum taliter locutus,
his compellat verbis, 0 11Cailtane, benefecisti ad me obedienter
festinando: requiesce paulisper. Idcirco ad te invitandum
misi, amans amicum, ut hie mecum in vera finias obedientia
vitse cursum tuse. Nam 12ante hujus 13hebdomadis 14finem ad
15Dominum in pace transibis. Quibus auditis, gratias agens
7-7 om. D. 8 appropinquantis C. 9 quern D.
10 A. C. F. S. surge B. surrexit D. n A. D. suscepit B. C. F. S.
12 fechnaus B. C. F. S. fiachna D. i3 erant D.
14 culpas B. peccata D. 15-16 sua confessns est D. 17 om. C. D. F. S.
18 om. D. 19-20 deus contritum non spernit et humiliatum cor .B.
al baythenum D. '22 longe D.
1 titul. om. C. D. F. S. Boll, tenor cap. x. continuatur. 2 om. D.
3 calteanum D. 4~5 om. C. D. F. S. 6 dicite C. D. F. S.
7 om. C. D. F. S. 8 calteano D. ° A. C. iona B.
10 om. F. n calteane D. 12 om. D.
12 ebdomadis A. B. D. F. S. 14 fine D. 15 A. B. deum C. D. F. S.
VITA SANCTI COLUMB^E. LIBER I. 133
Deo, Sanctumque lacrymans 16exosculatus, 17ad hospitium,
accepta ab eo benedictione, 18pergit: eademque subsecuta
infirmatus nocte, juxta verbum Sancti in eadem septimana
ad Christum 19Dominum migravit.
fratribu* sandi jnrafctba
bin.
CliiUADAM Dominica die ultra ssepe memoratum clamatum CAP.
est fretum. Quern audiens Sanctus clamorem, ad fratres qui XXVI<
ibidem 2inerant, Ite, ait, celeriter, peregrinosque de longinqua
venientes regione ad nos ocius adducite. Qui continuo obsecuti,
3transfretantes adduxerunt hospites : quos Sanctus 4exosculatus,
consequenter de causa percontatur itineris. Qui respondentes
aiunt, Ut 5hoc etiam anno apud te peregrinemur, venimus.
Quibus Sanctus hanc dedit responsionem : Apud me, ut dicitis,
anni unius spatio peregrinari non poteritis, nisi prius 6monachi-
cum promiseritis votum. Quod qui 7inerant prsesentes valde
mirati sunt 8ad hospites eadem hora 9adventantes dici. Ad
quse Sancti verba senior respondens frater ait, Hoc in mente
propositum licet in hanc horam usque nullatenus 10habuerimus,
tamen tuum sequemur consilium, divinitus, ut credimus, in-
spiratum. Quid plura? Eodem horae momento oratorium
cum Sancto ingressi, devote, flexis genibus, votum 11monachiale
voverunt. Sanctus turn 12deinde, ad fratres conversus, ait, Hi
duo proselyti vivam Deo seipsos exhibentes hostiam, longaque
13 in 13brevi Christianas tempera militise complentes, hoc mox
eodem mense ad Christum Dominum in pace transibunt.
Quibus auditis ambo fratres, gratias Deo agentes, ad hospitium
udeducti sunt: interjectisque diebus septem, senior frater
ccepit infirmari, et, eadem peracta septimana, ad Dominum
emigravit. Similiter et alter post septem alios dies infirmatus,
ejusdem in fine hebdomadis, ad Dominum feliciter 15 transit. Et
sic secundum Sancti veridicam prophetiam, intra ejusdem
mensis terminum, ambo prcesentem finiunt vitam.
16 osculatus est D. 17 et Q. S. 18 pcrrexit D. 10 om B.
1 titul om. C. D. F. S. Boll. 2 erant D. 3 mandatum add. D.
4 exosculatos D. E. *> et add. D. ° monasticum D.
7 crant D. s em. D. 9 advenientes D.
10 habuimus D. " monachilc B. 0. 12 om. D.
13 om. D; " ducti D. 15 emigravit D.
134 VITA SANCTI COLUMB.'E. LIBER I.
a§^ -Qtuxbam Jtrtbrananxr 0artdi :pr0;ph.etia bin.
CAP. @TlJM per aliquot dies in insula demoraretur 2Scia vir beatus,
XXVIL 3aiicujus }ocj terrulam mari vicinam baculo percutiens, ad
comites 4sic ait, Mirum dictu, 0 filioli ! hodie in hac hujus loci
terrula quidam gentilis senex, 5naturale per totam bonum
custodiens 6vitam, 7et baptizabitur, et morietur, 8et sepelietur.
Et ecce, quasi 9post unius intervallum horse, navicula ad
eundem supervenit portum ; cujus in prora 10 quidam advectus
est decrepitus senex, nGeon8e 12primarius cohortis, quern bini
juvenes, de navi sublevantes, ante beati conspectum viri
13deponunt. Qui statim, verbo Dei a Sancto per interpretem
recepto, credens, ab eodem baptizatus est, et post expleta
baptizationis 14ministeria, sicuti Sanctus prophetizavit, eodem
in loco consequenter obiit, ibidemque socii, congesto lapidum
acervo, 15sepeliunt. Qui 16thodieque in 17ora cernitur maritima;
fluviusque ejusdem 18loci in quo idem baptisma acceperat, ex
nomine ejus, 19Dobur 19Artbranani usque in hodiernum 20nomi-
natus diem, ab accolis vocitatur.
tran#nrotata
xxvni J-LIO in tempore trans Britannise Dorsum iter agens, aliquo
in desertis 2viculo agellis reperto, ibidemque juxta alicujus
marginem 3rivuli stagnum intrantis, Sanctus mansionem faciens,
eadem nocte dormientes, seniisopore degustato, suscitat comites,
dicens, Nunc, nunc, celerius foras exeuntes, nostram quam
ultra rivum naviculam posuistis in 4domum, hue citius advehite,
et in viciniore 5domuncula ponite. Qui continue obedientes,
sicut 6eis prseceptum est, fecerunt ; ipsisque iterum quiescenti-
bus, Sanctus post quoddam intervallum silenter Diormitium
pulsat inquiens, Nunc stans extra domum aspice quid in illo
agitur viculo ubi prius 7vestram posuistis naviculam. Qui
Sancti prsecepto obsecutus domum egreditur, et respiciens
1 titul. om. C. D. F. S. Boll. 2 scotia C. skia F. om. D. S.
3 columba add. D. 4 om. C. D. F. S.
5-6 per totam vitam naturale bonum custadiens D. 7 om. D.
8 ac D. 9 om. F. 10 om. D. u genere D.
12 insulse inserunt Colg. Boll. 13 deposuerunt D.
14 A. misteria B. C. F. S. 15 eum add. T>. 16 hodie quoque D.
17 hora B. S. hac hora C. 18 om. G. D. F. S.
19 A. B. om. C. D. F. S. 20 B. Colg. Boll, nominatus est A.
1 capitulum totum om. C. D. F. S. titul. om. Boll.
2 B. et A. inferius vehiculo A. Colg. Boll. 3 rivoli A. 4 domo B.
5 domucula A. 6 om. B. 7 uostram B.
VJTA SANCTI COLUMB^E. LIBEli I. 135
8videt vicum flamma instante totum concremari. Reversusque
ad Sanctum quod ibidem agebatur retulit. Sanctus proinde
fratribus de quodam narravit semulo persecutore qui easdem
domus eadem incenderat nocte.
(i&Uana ftlio Jfaxhtni qui .erat in 2M.fcce*i CM^ixm flit
itidem die Sanctus, in suo sedens Huguriolo, CAP.
5Colcio eidem, lectitanti juxta se, prophetizans ait, Nunc ununi xxix.
tenacem primarium de tuse prsepositis 6diceceseos dsemones ad
inferna rapiunt. At vero hoc audiens 7Colcius tempus et horam
in tabula describens, post aliquot menses ad patriam reversus,
Gallanum filium Fachtni eodem horse momento obiisse, ab
accolis ejusdem regionis percunctatus, invenit, quo vir beatus
eidem a dsemonibus raptum enarravit.
z Jfinbrharar
a0terii fmtbatar* qurrb gjcotice 3^rtrhain nttnrupatur, in
©thtra
in tempore supra memoratus presbyter Findchanus,
Christ! miles, Aidum cognomento Nigrum, regio genere ortum,
4Cruthinicum gente, de Scotia ad Britanniam sub clericatus
habitu secum adduxit, ut in suo apud se monasterio per aliquot
peregrinaretur annos. Qui scilicet Aidus Niger valde sanguin-
arius homo et multorum fuerat trucidator ; qui et Diormitiuni
filium Cerbulis, totius Scotise regnatorem, Deo auctore ordina-
tum, interfecerat. Hie itaque idem Aidus, post aliquantum in
peregrinatione transactum tempus, accito episcopo, quamvis u/
non recte, apud supradictum Findchanum presbyter ordiriatus
est. Episcopus tamen non est ausus super caput ejus manum
imponere, nisi prius idem Findchanus, Aidum carnaliter amans,
suam capiti ejus pro confirmatione imponeret dexteram. Quse
talis ordinatio cum postea sancto intimaretur viro, segre tulit :
turn proinde hanc de illo Findchano et de Aido ordinato for-
midabilem profatur sententiam, inquiens, Ilia manus dextra
8 vidit B.
1 capitul. totum om. C. D. F. S. titul. om. BolL 2 diocisi A. diocesi B.
3 A. cellachi B. 4 tegoriolo A. 6 A. colgio B.
6 diociseos A. 7 A. colgius B.
1 capitul. totum om. C. B. F. S. titul. om. Boll. 1-2 om. B.
3 ardcaiin B. 4 A. B.
136 VITA SAXCTI COLUMB^E. LIBER I.
quam Findcharms, contra fas, et jus ecclesiasticum, super caput
filii perditionis imposuit, mox computrescet, et post magnos
dolorum cruciatus ipsum in 5terram 6sepelienda prsecedet; et
ipse post suam humatam manum per multos superstes victurus
est annos. Ordinatus vero indebite Aldus, sicuti canis, ad
vomitum revertetur suum, et ipse rursum sanguilentus truci-
dator exist et, et ad ultimum lancea 7jugulatus, de ligno in
aquam cadens, submersus morietur. Talem multo prius ter-
minum promeruit vitse, qui totius regem trucidavit Scotise.
Quse beati viri prophetia de utroque adimpleta est ; nam pres-
byteri Findchani 8dexter 9per 9pugnum 10putrefactus in terram
eum prsecessit, in ilia 11sepultus insula quse 120mmon nuncu-
patur: ipse vero, juxta verbum Sancti Columbae per multos
post vixit annos. Aidus vero Niger, solummodo nomine pres
byter, ad sua priora reversus scelera, dolo lancea transfixus, de
prora ratis in aquam lapsus stagneam, disperiit.
sxrlamine 0pirittt0 <Jtt0na.cKt0 in bia
Iab.ori00i0 mwso.
has prsedicabiles prophetici spiritus prophetationes
non ab re videtur etiam de quadam spiritali consolatione nostris
commemorare literulis, quam aliquando sancti Columbse mon-
achi, spiritu ejus ipsis in via obviante, sentiebant. Alio nam-
que in tempore, fratres, post messionis opera, vespere ad nionas-
terium redeuntes, et ad ilium pervenientes locum qui Scotice
nuncupatur 2Cuuleilne, qui utique locus inter occidentalem
3Iou9e insulae campulum et nostrum monasterium medius esse
dicitur, mirum quid et inconsuetum singuli sibi sentire vide-
bantur : quod tamen alius 4alii intimare nullo modo audebat.
Et sic per aliquot dies eodem in loco, eademque vespertina
sentiebant hora. Fuit autem 5iisdem 6in diebus sanctus Baitlie-
neus inter eos operum dispensator, qui sic ad ipsos alia die est
prolocutus, inquiens, Nunc, fratres, confiteri debetis singuli si
aliquod in hoc medio loco inter messem et monasterium incon
suetum et inopinatum sentitis miraculum. Unus turn ex eis
senior, Juxta tuam, ait, 7jussionem, quod mihi hoc in loco
5 A. terra B. ° sepeliendam A.
7 B. jugnlentus A. jugulandus Colg. Boll. 8 A. B.
!) per pugnus A. prepugnus B. per pugnum Colg. Boll.
10 A. B. n A. B. 12 omon B.
1 capital, totum om. C. D. F. S. titul. om. Boll. 2 B. cuul eilne A.
3 A. ione B. 4 alio A. r> hisdem A. B.
** om. B. 7 jusionem A. uieionem err ore voccdium B.
VITA SANCTI COLUMB/E. LIBER I. 137
ostensum est dicam ; nam et in his praetereuntibus dieculis, et
nunc etiam, quandam miri odoris 8fragrantiam ac si universoruni
florum in unum sentio collectorum ; quendam quoque quasi
ignis ardorem, non pcenalem, sed quodammodo suavem : sed et
quandam in corde insuetam et incomparabilem infusam laetifi-
cationem, quae me subito mirabiliter consolatur, et in tantum
laetificat ut nullius maeroris, nullius laboris, meminisse possim.
Sed et onus quod meo, quamvis grave, porto in dorso, ab hoc
loco usque quo ad monasterium perveniatur, quomodo nescio,
in tantum relevatur, ut me oneratum non sentiam. Quid
plura ? Sic omnes illi messores operarii de se singillatim pro-
fitentur per omnia sensisse, sicuti unus ex eis coram 9enarra-
verat, singulique simul flexis genibus a sancto postularunt
Baitheneo ut ejusdem miri solaminis causam et originem, quod
et ipse, sicut et ceteri 10sentiebant, illis ignorantibus, intimare
procuraret. Quibus consequenter hoc dedit responsum, Scitis,
inquiens, quod noster senior Columba de nobis anxie cogitet, et
nos ad se tardius pervenientes gegre ferat nostri memor laboris,
et idcirco quia corporaliter obviam nobis non venit, spiritus
ejus nostris obviat gressibus, qui taliter nos consolans laetificat.
Quibus auditis verbis, ingeniculantes, cum ingenti gratulatione,
expansis ad coelum manibus, Christum in sancto venerantur et
beato viro.
11Sed et hoc silere non debemus quod ab expertis quibusdam
de voce beati psalmodiae viri indubitanter traditum est. Quae
scilicet vox venerabilis viri in ecclesia cum fratribus decantan-
tis, aliquando per quatuor stadia, hoc est, quingentos passus,
aliquando vero per octo, hoc est, mille passus, incomparabili
elevata modo audiebatur. Mirum dictu! Nee in auribus
eorum qui secum in ecclesia stabant vox ejus modum humanae
vocis in clamoris granditate excedebat. Sed tamen eadem hora
qui ultra mille passuum longinquitatem stabant, sic clare
eandem audiebant vocem, ut illos quos canebat versiculos etiam
per singulas possent distinguere syllabas : similiter 12enim ejus
vox in auribus prope et longe audientium personabat. Sed hoc
de voce miraculum beati viri non semper, sed raro, accidisse
comprobatur; quod tamen sine Divini Spiritus gratia nullo
modo fieri potuisset.
13 Sed et illud non est tacendum quod aliquando de tali et
8 flagrantiam A. B. « A. enarravit B. 10 sentiebat B.
11 litera S. majuscula, minio scripta, paragraphum novum designat in B.
Pinkertonus capit. xxxviii. inchoat, et tituliim proprio jure suppeditat, refra-
f/antibus codd. 12 B. Con. A., ut passim pro voce enim in Libro Armacano.
13 litera S. majuscula, ccerulca, B.
138 VITA SANCTI COLUMB^E. LIBER I.
incomparabili vocis ejus sublevatione juxta Brudei regis muni-
tionem accidisse traditur. Nam ipse Sanctus cum paucis
fratribus extra regis munitionem dum vespertinales Dei laudes
ex more celebraret, quidam Magi, ad eos propius accedentes, in .
quantum poterant, prohibere conabantur, ne de ore ipsorum
divinse laudis sonus inter Gentiles audiretur populos. Quo
comperto Sanctus quadragesimum et quartum psalmum decan-
tare ccepit, mirumque in modum ita vox ejus in aere eodem
momento instar alicujus formidabilis tonitrui elevata est, ut et
rex et populus intolerabili essent pavore perterriti.
1 Jle xjujxbam Ipibite xjm ^ttgttbitt* dobtt* toxrdt abate.
CAP. jj^tLIO in tempore, cum in Scotia per aliquot Sanctus demo-
xxx. raretur dies, alium currui insidentem videns clericum, qui
gaudenter peragrabat Campum Breg ; primo interrogans de eo
quis esset, hoc ab amicis ejusdem viri de eo accipit responsum,
Hie est Lugudius Clodus, homo dives et honoratus in plebe.
Sanctus consequenter respondens inquit, Non ita 2 video ; sed
homuncio miser et pauper, in die qua morietur, tria apud se
vicinorum prsetersoria in una retentabit 3maceria, unamque
electam de vaccis 4pr8etersoriorum occidi jubebit 5sibi, de 6cujus
cocta carne postulabit aliquam sibi parteni dari, cum meretrice
in eodern lectulo cubanti. De qua utique particula morsum
accipiens, statim ibidem strangulabitur et morietur. Quse
omnia, sicuti ab expertis traditur, juxta Sancti 7propheticum
adimpleta sunt 8verbum.
l*j$t JJemanrr fU0 2dntthrtch;e smidi 3prxrph.etia.
CAP. 4 jSlUNC 5enim cum Sanctus de malis suis corriperet, parvi-
xxxi. pen(jens Sanctum subsannabat. Cui respondens vir beatus ait,
In nomine Domini, Nemane, aliqua de te veridica loquar verba.
Inimici tui 6reperient te in eodem cum meretrice cubantem
cubiculo, ibidemque trucidaberis. Dsemones quoque ad loca
pcenarum tuam rapient animam. Hie idem Nemanus, post
aliquot annos, in uno cum meretrice lectulo repertus in regione
Cainle, juxta 7verbum Sancti, 8ab inimicis decapitatus, disperiit.
1 capitul. totum om. C. D. F. S. titul. om. BoU. 2 A. vides B.
3 A. B. maneria suo jure Boll. 4 prsetersoriuin B. 6 om. B.
6 unius B. 7 prophetiam B. 8 om. B.
1 capitul. totum om. C. D. F. S. titul. om. Boll. 2 gluteriche B.
3 prophetise verbum B. 4-5 nemanuin filium grutricae Boll.
6 periment B. 7 om. B. 8 vaticiniuin add. B.
VITA SANCTI COLUMB/E. LIBER I. 139
20andi bin
4in tempore Sanctus, cum in 5Scotiensium paulo 'CAP.
superius moraretur memorata regione, casu Dominica die ad xxxn.
quoddam devenit vicinum monasteriolum quod Scotice 6Trioit
vocitatur. Eadem 7proinde die quendam audiens presbyterum
sacra eucharistise mysteria conficientem, quem ideo fratres, qui
ibidem commanebant, ad missarum elegerant peragenda sol-
lemnia, quia valde religiosum 8 sestimabant, repente hanc for-
midabilem de ore profert vocem, Munda et immunda pariter
nunc 9permisceri cernuntur, hoc est, munda sacrce oblationis
10 mysteria per immundum hominem ministrata, qui in sua
11 interim conscientia 12aliquod grande occultat facinus. Heec
qui 13inerant audientes tremefacti nimis obstupuere. Ille vero
de quo hsec dicebantur verba coram omnibus 14peccantiam
compulsus est 15suam confiteri. Christique commilitones, qui
in ecclesia Sanctum circumstantes occulta cordis audierant
manifestantem, divinam in eo scientiam cum magna admira-
tione glorificarunt.
(Srrxr toe ^JEtfmbruibi qui in (£01000 in0ula r^mmanebat
0anrtt txrh^ti^ati^ toiri.
3in tempore Sanctus 4in 5Ioua commanens insula, CAP.
6accitis ad se binis 7de fratribus 7viris, quorum vocabula 8Lug- xxxm.
beus et 9Silnanus, eisdem praecipiens dixit, Nunc ad Maleam
transfretate insulam, et in campulis mari vicinis 10Ercum
quserite furacem ; qui nocte praeterita solus occulte de insula
11Coloso perveniens, sub 12sua feno tecta navicula inter aren-
arum cumulos per diem se occultare conatur, ut noctu ad
parvam transnaviget insulam ubi marini nostri juris vituli
generantur et generant; ut de illis 13furenter occisis edax valde
furax suam replens naviculam, ad suum repedet habitaculum.
1 titul om. C. D. F. S. Boll. 2 qui erat in triota add. B.
3 prophetia B. 4 owl jy b hyberniencium D.
6 A. F. triota B. trioint C. treoit D. 7 om. D.
8 existimabant D. 9 misceri B. 10 B. C. D. F. S. ministeria A.
11 om. D. 12 adhuc add. D. 13 erant D. ,
14 peccatum suum B. 15 om. B.
1 titul. om. C. D. F. S. Boll. 2 A. mocudriudi B. 3 om. B. D.
4 columba add. D. 5 A. iona B. D. 6 accersitis D.
7 om. D. 8 A. C. lubbeus B. lugidus D.
9 A. C. F. S. selnanus B. sillanus D. 10 ertum B.
11 colosa D. 12 suo B. C. 13 furanter A. furantur F. f urtim C.
140 VITA SANCTI COLUMB.E. LIBER I.
Qui hasc audientes, obsecuti, emigrant, furemque in locis a
Sancto prsesignatis absconsum reperiunt, et ad Sanctum, sicut
illis praeceperat, perduxerunt. Quo viso Sanctus ad eum 14dicit,
Quare tu res alienas, divinum transgressus mandatum, saepe
furaris ? Quando necesse habueris, ad nos veniens necessaria
accipies postulata. Et hsec dicens prsecipit 15verveces occidi,
et pro 16phocis dari misero furaci, ne vacuus ad sua remearet.
Et post aliquantum tempus Sanctus, in spiritu vicinam furis
prsevidens mortem, ad 17Baitheneum eo 18in tempore prsepo-
situm commorantem in Campo 19 Lunge mittit, ut eidem
furi quoddam pingue pecus et 20sex modios novissima
21mittat munera. Quibus a 22Baitheneo, sicut Sanctus com-
mendaverat, transmissis, ea die inventus 23est morte subita
praeventus furax misellus, et in exequiis ejus transmissa
expensa sunt 24xenia.
1 Jb Cnrnanxr yotiz zmdi prxrplutia bin.
CAP. ,J1I_LIO 2in tempore, Sanctus cum juxta Stagnum 3Cei, prope
xxxiv. fluminis quod latine Bos dicitur, die aliqua cum fratribus
sederet, quidam ad eos 4 Scoticus poeta devenit ; qui cum post
aliquant recessisset sermocinationem, fratres ad Sanctum, Cur,
aiunt, 5a 6nobis regrediente 7Cronano poeta aliquod ex more
suae artis canticum non postulasti modulabiliter decantari ?
Quibus Sanctus, 8 Quare 9et 10vos nunc inutilia profertis verba?
quomodo ab illo misero homuncione carmen postularem IsetitiaB
qui nunc, ab inimicis ntrucidatus, finem ad iisque ocius per-
venit vitaa. His a Sancto dictis, et ecce 12 ultra flumen aliquis
13clamitat homo dicens, Ille poeta, qui ua vobis nuper sospes
rediit, hora 15in hac ab inimicis in via interfectus est. 160mnes
tune qui prsesentes inerant valde 17mirati, se invicem intuentes
obstupuere.
11 ait I). 15 berbices A. F. S. vervecem Boll.
16 focis A. F. S. furtis C. 17 baltenum C. baitemim D.
18 om. B. C. D. S. 19 longe D. 20 vii. D.
21 om. B. 22 baltheneo C. baitheno I>.
23 om. D. 24 A. C. F. S. exenia B. exennia D.
1 iltulum om. C. D. F. S. Boll. 2 A. B. F. S. om. C. D.
3 ce D. 4 scotticus B. 5-° om. D.
7 coronano C. 8 ait D. 9 ad I). 10 nos D.
11 A. C. F. S. trucklandus B. Boll. 12 ad I>. 13 clamabat DJ
11 om. C. 15 om. D. 1G om. D. 17 admirati D.
VITA SANCTI COLUMB^:. LIBER I. 141
fcturJw* ^i^rnis 0andi imtidnatia toiri, qui amb0
btspmerant.
itidem 2 in tempore, Sanctus in 3 loua 4conversans CAP.
insula, 5repente inter 6legendum summo, cum ingenti admira- xxxv-
tione, gemitu ingemuit msesto. Quod videns, qui prsesens inerat,
7Lugbeus 8Mocublai coepit ab eo percunctari subiti causam
9mseroris. Cui Sanctus valde meestificatus hanc dedit respon-
sionem, Duo quidam 10 nunc regii generis viri in n Scotia
mutuis inter se vulneribus 12transfixi disperierunt 13haud procul
a monasterio quod dicitur 14Cellrois, in provincia 15Maugdor-
norum, 16octavaque die, hac peracta 17hebdomade, ultra f return
18alius clamitabit, qui 19hsec, de 20Hibernia veniens, ita 21taliter
facta enarrabit. Sed hoc, 0 filiole, quamdiu vixero nemini
22indices. Octava 23proinde ultra fretum clamatum est die.
Sanctus 24tum supra memoratum ad se 25Lugbeum vocans,
silenter ad eum ait, Qui nunc clamitat ultra fretum ipse est, de
quo tibi prius dixeram, 26long8evus viator. 27Vade, et 28adduc
eum ad nos. Qui celeriter adductus, inter cetera, hoc etiam
retulit, Duo, inquiens, 29in parte 30Maugdornorum nobiles viri,
se mutuo vulnerantes, mortui sunt ; hoc est, Colman 31Canis,
32filius 33Aileni, et 34Konanus 35filius 36Aido filii Colgen, de
37Anteriorum genere, prope fines illorum locorum, ubi illud
monasterium cernitur quod dicitur ** Cellrois. Post haec
illius verba 39narrationis, idem 40Lugbeus, Christi miles, Sanc
tum seorsum coepit interrogare, dicens, Quseso mihi de his
talibus narres propheticis revelationibus quomodo, 41si per
visum 42tibi, an auditu, analio, hominibus incognito, 43manifes-
tantur modo. Ad hsec Sanctus, De qua nunc, ait, inquiris
1 titul. om. C. D. F. S. Boll. 2 om. C. D. 3 A. C. F. S. ionaB. D.
4 om. D. 5 conversatus D. 6 legendo D.
7 lugidus D. 8 om. C. D. F. S. 9 mesti D.
10 om. D. 1X hybernia D. 12 totum D.
13 et est add. F. 14 cellros B. cellarois C. ceall rois D. cellorois F.
15 A. F. S. maugdorneorum B. magdenorum C. muganorum D.
16 octava C. D. 17 ebdomada B. C. F. S. 18 aliquis C. D.
19 Con. A. hec B. C F. S. hue Colg. Boll. om. D.
20 B. C. D. evernia A. S. 21 et add. D. 22 dices D.
23 deinde D. 24 tune D. 25 lugidum D.
2(5 C. D. F. S. longeus A. vide var. led. 22, lib. ii. c. 10 infra, longus B.
27 valde B. 2* educ C. 29-30 om. C. D. F. S.
30 maugdorneorum B. 31 cognomento canis B. canus C. D. F. S.
32-33 om. C. D. F. S. 34 romanus C. 35-38 om. C. D. F. S.
30 aidi Boll. 37 A. B. Colg. Boll. 38 cellroiss A.
39 A. narratoris B. C. D. F. S. 40 lugidus D.
41 om. D. 42 om. D. 43 tibi add. D.
142 VITA SANCTI COLUMB/E. LTBER I.
valde subtili re nullatenus tibi quamlibet aliquam intimare
particulam potero, nisi prius, flexis genibus, per nomen excelsi
Dei mihi firmiter promittas hoc te obscurissimum sacramentum
nulli unquam hominum cunctis diebus vitse mese enarraturum.
Qui, hsec audiens, flexit continue genua, et, prostrate in terram
vultu, juxta Sancti prseceptionem plene omnia promisit. Qua
statim perfecta promissione, Sanctus ad surgentem sic locutus
inquit, Sunt nonnulli, quamlibet pauci admodum, quibus divina
hoc contulit gratia, ut etiam totum 44totius terrse orbem, cum
ambitu oceani et coeli, uno eodemque momento, quasi sub uno
solis radio, mirabiliter laxato mentis sinu, clare et manifes-
tissime speculentur. Hoc miraculum Sanctus, quamvis de aliis
electis dicere videatur, vanam utique fugiens gloriam, de seipso
tamen dixisse, per obliquum licet, nullus dubitare debet qui
Paulum legit Apostolum, vas electionis, de talibus narrantem
sibi revelatis 45visionibus. Non enim ita scripsit, Scio me, sed,
Scio hominem, raptum usque ad tertium ccelum. Quod quam
libet de alio dicere 46videatur, nemo tamen dubitat sic de
propria, humilitatem custodiens, enarrare persona. Quern
47etiam et noster Columba in spiritalium visionum narratione
secutus est superius memorata, quam ab eo supradictus vir,
quern plurimum Sanctus amabat, magnis precibus prasmissis, vix
potuit extorquere, sicut 48ipse coram aliorum personis sanctorum,
post sancti ColumbaB transiturn, testatus est: a quibus hsec
quse de Sancto supra narravimus indubitanter didicimus.
l^z toitanxr
.JQuLIO 3in tempore, quidam de 4Muminensium provincia
proselytus ad Sanctum venit ; qui se in quantum potuit 5occul-
tabat humiliter, 6ut nullus sciret quod esset episcopus : sed
tamen Sanctum hoc non potuit latere. Nam alia die Dominica
a Sancto jussus Christi corpus ex more conficere, Sanctum
7advocat, ut simul, quasi duo presbyteri, Dominicum panem
frangerent. Sanctus proinde ad altarium accedens, repente
intuitus faciem ejus, sic eum compellat, Benedicat te Christus,
frater ; hunc solus, 8episcopali ritu, frange panem : nunc scimus
quod sis episcopus. Quare 9hucusque te occultare conatus es,
44 licet non semper add. B. 45 om. D. *G videretur C. D.
47 jam D. 48 om. B.
1 titul om. C. D. F. S. Boll.
2 hie sequuntur in C. D. F. S. ii. 29, 30, hujus recensionis, et partem i. 15
ejfitiunt. 3 om. D. 4 meminensium C. 5 om. C.
c quod C. 7 convocat D. 8 episcopus add. C. 9 usquequo D.
VITA SANCTI COLUMB^. LIBER I. 143
ut tibi a nobis debita non redderetur veneratio ? Quo audito
Sancti verbo, humilis peregrinus, valde stupefactus, Christum in
Sancto veneratus est ; et qui inerant praesentes nimis admirati,
glorificarunt 10Dominum.
ia biri
LIO itidem in tempore, vir venerandus 2Ernanum presby-
terum, senem, suum avunculum, ad praeposituram illius monas-
terii transmisit quod in 3Hinba insula ante plures fundaverat
annos. Itaque cum ipsum 4Sanctus emigrantem exosculatus
benediceret, 6hoc de eo intulit vaticinium, dicens, Hunc meum
nunc 6egredientem amicum non me spero iterum in hoc seculo
viventem visurum. Itaque idem 7Ernanus post non multos
dies, quadam molestatus aegrimonia, ad Sanctum volens
reportatus est : cujus in perventione valde gavisus, ire obvius
ad portum coepit. Ipse vero 7Ernanus, quamlibet infirmis,
propriis tamen, vestigiis a portu obviare Sancto conabatur valde
alacer. Sed cum esset inter ambos quasi 8viginti quatuor
| 9passuum intervallum, subita morte praeventus, priusquam
Sanctus faciem ejus videret viventis, expirans in terram cecidit,
ne verbum Sancti ullo frustraretur modo. Unde in eodem loco
ante januam canabse crux infixa est, et altera ubi Sanctus
restitit, illo expirante, similiter 10crux nhodieque infixa stat.
1 Jb alicujtt0 ;jplebeii i amiiixria 0andi pnrphetta totri
J^LLIO quoque 2in tempore, quidam inter ceteros ad Sanctum
plebeius venit 3in loco hospitantem qui 4Scotice vocitatur
Coire 5 Salchain ; quern cum Sanctus ad se vespere venientem
vidisset, Ubi, 6ait, habitas ? Ille inquit, In regione quae litto-
ribus stagni 7Crogreth est 8contermina ego inhabito. Illam
quam dicis provinciolam, ait Sanctus, nunc barbari populantur
vastatores. Quo audito, miser plebeius 9maritam et filios
deplangere coepit. Quern Sanctus valde maerentem videns,
consolans inquit, Vade, homuncule, vade, tua familiola tota in
montem 10fugiens evasit; tua vero omnia pecuscula secum
10 deura B. C. D. F. S.
1 titul. om., et tenorem cap. 16 continuant, C. D. F. S. Boll.
2 hernanum D. 3 himba C. D. F. S. 4 sanctum C.
5 et add. F. 6 ingredientem C. 7 hernanus D.
8-9 vise viginti iv. M. passum C. 10 que B. n hodie B.
1 titul. om. C. D. F. S. Boll. 2 om. D. 3-5 om. C. D. F. S.
4 scottice B. 5 A. salcani B. salcair male, Colg. Boll.
6 inquit D. 7 crog reth A. crochreth B. om. C. D. F. S.
8 conterminata D. 9 maritum C. 10 efFugiens 1).
144 VITA SAXCTI COLUMB/K. LIBER I.
invasores "abegerunt, omnemque domus suppellectilem similiter
ssevi raptores cum praeda rapuere. Haec audiens plebeius, ad
patriam regressus, cuncta, sicuti a Sancto prsedicta, 12sic invenit
13expleta.
nomine, ft'U0 Jttbani, 0andi
prxrpltetia toiri
J/H-LIO 2itidem in tempore 3quidam 4plebeius, omnium illius
setatis in populo 5Korkureti fortissimus virorum, 6a 7sancto 8per-
cunctatur 9viro qua morte esset praeveniendus. Cui Sanctus,
Nee in bello, ait, nee in mari morieris : comes tui itineris, a
quo non suspicaris, causa erit tuae mortis. Fortassis, inquit
Goreus, aliquis de meis comitantibus amicis me trucidare cogi-
tet, aut marita ob alicujus junioris viri amorem me maleficio
mortificare. Sanctus, Non ita, ait, continget. Quare, Goreus
inquit, de meo interfectore mini nunc intimare non vis ? Sanc
tus, Idcirco, ait, nolo tibi de illo tuo comite nocuo nunc mani-
festius aliquid edicere, ne te ejus crebra 10 recogniti recordatio
nimis maestificet, donee nilla veniat dies qua ejusdem rei veri-
tatem probabis. Quid 12immorarnur verbis ? Post aliquot 13anno-
rum excursus, idem supra memoratus Goreus, casu 14alia die
sub navi residens, cultello proprio 15cristiliam de 16hastili era-
debat ; 17tum 18deinde alios prope inter se belligerantes audiens,
citius 19surgit ut eos a belligeratione separaret, eodemque cul
tello ilia subitatione negligentius in terra dimisso, ejus 20genicula
offenso graviter vulnerata est. Et tali faciente comite, causa ei
mortificationis oborta est ; quam ipse continuo, secundum sancti
vaticinationem viri, mente perculsus, recognovit; postque all-.
quantos menses, eodem aggravatus dolore, moritur.
etiam u, qwamlib^t mtnxrre, ynio non t$8t
sancti jumnba yr^smntia, d 2 jrarpketi^atixr toiri.
namque in 4tempore, 5cum Sanctus 6in7Ioua 8inhabi-
taret insula, unum de fratribus advocans, sic 9compellat, Tertia
11 ambigerunt B. 12 sunt C. 13 exempla C. D.
1 titul. om. C. D. F. S. Boll. 2 om. D. 3-4 om. C. 4 homo D.
5 KOPKYPETI literis majusculis A. corforepti B. om. C. D. F. S.
G goreus nomine D. om. C. 7 sanctum columbam C. D.
8 percunctatus est C. D. 9 viruin C. om. D. 10 om. C.
11 om. C. 12 moramur D. 13 om. D. 14 aliqua C.
15 cristilia F. 16 astili A. F. castili C. astali D. 17 tune D.
18 om. D. 19 surrexit D. 20 B. C. genucla A. genucula D.
1 titul. om. C. D. F. S. Boll. , 2 prophetica B. 3-4 om. D.
5 (him D. ° colnmba add D. 7 A. C. iona B. 8 habitaret D. 9 ait D.
VITA SANCTI COLUMB.E. LIBER I. 145
ab hac 10illucescente die expectare debebis in occidental hujus
insulse parte, super maris oram sedens : nam de aquilonali
11Hiberni0eregione quaedam hospita grus, ventis per longos aeris
agitata circuitus, post nonam diei horam valde fessa et fatigata
superveniet, et pene consumptis viribus, coram te in litore
cadens recumbet ; quam misericorditer 12sublevare curabis, et ad
propinquam deportabis domum, 13ibidemque hospitaliter recep-
tam, per tres dies et noctes ei ministrans, sollicite cibabis ; et
post expleto recreata triduo, nolens ultra apud nos peregrinari,
ad priorem 14Scotiee dulcem, unde orta, 15remeabit regionem,
plene resumptis viribus ; quam ideo tibi 16sic diligenter com
mendo quia de nostrae paternitatis regione est oriunda. Obse-
cundat frater, tertiaque die post horam nonam, 17ut 18jussus,
prsescitae adventum prsestolatur hospitae, adventantemofue de
littore levat lapsam, ad hospitium portat infirmam, esurientem
cibat. Cui ad monasterium vespere reverso Sanctus, non inter-
rogans sed 19narrans, ait, Benedicat te Deus, mi fili, 20quia pere-
grinae bene ministrasti hospitae, quae in peregrinatione non
demorabitur, sed post ternos soles ad patriam 21repedabit. Quod
ita ut Sanctus praedixit 22et res etiam probavit. Nam tri-
nalibus hospitata diebus, coram hospite ministro de terra se
primum volando elevans in 23 sublime, paulisperque in aere viam
speculata, oceani transvadato aequore, ad 24Hiberniam recto vola-
tus cursu die repedavit tranquillo.
1 Jle $dlo xjttxrb in mnnitione Csthtrni $0&i mnito
t&i Umyom, jet be qw^bam tonticnio tjw&tm
b^ati :pr#0d£ntm toiri.
3in tempore vir beatus 4cum 5post regum in Dorso
6Cette condictum, Aidi videlicet filii 7Ainmurech, et Aidani filii
8Gabrani, ad campos reverteretur sequoreos, ipse et 9Comgellus
abbas quad am 10serena 110estivi temporis die, haud procul a
supra memorata munitione resident. Turn 12proinde aqua de
10 lucetenente D.
13 ibidem C. ibique D.
ic om. C. D. F. S.
19 enarrans D.
22 om. C.
11 everniae A.
1-4 hybernie D.
"-is om. B.
20 qui B.
23 sullirae B.
12 sullevare B.
15 est add. C. D.
is jussus fuerat C. D.
21 repedavit A.
24 B. C. D. everniam A.
1 titul. om. C. D. F. S. Boll, in qaibus cap. xviii. continuatur.
2 sancti B. 3 om. D. 4 columba add. D.
5-8 om. C. D. F. S. 6 cete B. 7 ammurech B.
9 congellus C. comgallus D. lo secreta C. n aestei A.
12 om. D.
K
146 VITA SANCTI COLUMBUS. LIBER I.
quodam proximo ad manus lavandas fonticulo 13ad 14Sanctos in
seneo defertur vasculo. Quam cum sanctus Columba aceepisset,
ad abbatem 15Comgellum a latere sedentem sic profatur, Ille
fonticulus, 0 16Comgelle, de quo haec effusa nobis allata est
aqua, veniet dies quando nullis usibus humanis aptus erit.
Qua causa, ait 17Comgellus, ejus fontana corrumpetur unda ?
Sanctus turn Columba, Quia humano, inquit, cruore replebitur :
nam mei 18cognationales amici et tui secundum carnem cognati,
19 hoc est, Nellis Nepotes et Cruthini 20populi, in hac vicina
munitione 21Cethirni belligerantes committent bellum. Unde
in supra memorata fonte aliquis de mea 22cognatione trucida-
bitur homuncio, 23cujus cum cseteris 24interfecti sanguine ejus-
dem fonticuli locus replebitur. 25Quse ejus 26veridica suo tern-
pore post multos vaticinatio expleta est annos. In quo bello,
ut multi 27norunt populi, 28Domnallus ^Aidi filius victor
sublimatus est, et in eodem, secundum sancti vaticinium viri,
fonticulo, quidam de parentela ejus interfectus 30est homo.
Alius mihi 31Adamnano Christi miles, Finanus nomine, qui
vitam multis anachoreticam annis juxta Eoboreti monasterium
Campi irreprehensibiliter ducebat, de eodem bello se praesente
eommisso aliqua enarrans, protestatus est in supradicto fonte
truncum 32cadaverinum vidisse, eademque die ad monasterium
sancti 33Comgelli quod 34Scotice dicitur 35Cambas eommisso
reversum bello quia inde prius venerat, 36ibidemque duos sancti
37 Comgelli senes monachos reperisse : quibus cum de bello
coram se acto, et ^de fonticulo humano cruore corrupto, ali-
quanta enarraret, illi consequenter, Verus 39propheta Columba,
aiunt, qui hsec omnia quse hodie de bello et 40de fonticulo expleta
41 enarras, ante multos annos futura, nobis audientibus, coram
sancto 42Comgello, juxta 43Cethirni sedens munitionem, prsenun-
ciaverat.
13.14 om j) 15 congellum C. com jallum D. 1G congelle C. coingalle D. •'
17 congellus C. comgallus D. 18 cognitionales A. B.
19-20 om. C. D. F. S. 21 A. cechirni B. om. C. D. F. S.
22 cognitione A. B. 23 de add. D. 24 interfectis D.
25 corrupt! add. D. 26 viri dicta D. 27 non ignorant D.
28 domnalius C. donaldus D. domnaldus F. S. 2a aedlia D.
30 om. C. 31 B. adomnano A. C. 32 cadaver D.
33 congelli C. comgalli D. 34 scottice B. 3~} cammus D.
36 ibi denique C. 37 comgilli A. congelli C. comgalli D.
38 om. D. 39 est add. C. 40 om. C.
41 enarrans D. *2 congello C. comgallo D. 43 A. F. S. cethirin B.
VITA SANCTI COLUMILE. LIBER I. 147
15^ fcitoeraoram bi0rr.etimt.e xmiaxnm znntto retolata
fomlt gratia.
~E§.ODEM 2in tempore Conallus, episcopus 3Culerathin, col-
lectis a populo Campi 4Eilni pene innumerabilibus 5xeniis,
beato viro hospitium prseparavit, post condictum supra memo-
ratorum regum, turba prosequente multa, revertenti: proinde
sancto advenienti viro 6xenia populi multa, in platea monasterii
strata, benedicenda 7assignantur. Quse cum benedicens aspi-
ceret, 8xenium alicujus opulenti viri specialiter demonstrans,
Virum, ait, cujus est hoc 8xenium, pro misericordiis pauperum,
et ejus largitione, 9Dei comitatur misericordia. 10Itemque aliud
discernit inter alia multa 8xenium, inquiens, De hoc ego nxenio
viri sapientis et avari nullo modo gustare possum, nisi prius
veram de peccato avaritiae poenitudinem egerit. Quod verbum
cito in turba divulgatum audiens, accurrit Columbus filius
12Aidi conscius, et 13coram Sancto flexis genibus 14pcenitentiam
15agit, et de cetero avaritiae abrenunciaturum se promittit, et
largitatem cum morum emendatione consecuturum. Et jussus
a Sancto surgere, ex ilia hora est sanatus de vitio tenacitatis.
Erat enim vir sapiens, sicuti Sancto in ejus revelatum 16erat
17xenio. Ille vero dives largus, Brendenus nomine, de cujus
17xenio paulo superius dictum est, audiens et ipse Sancti verba
de se dicta, ingeniculans ad pedes Sancti, precatur ut pro eo ad
Dominum Sanctus fundat precem : qui, ab eo primum pro
quibusdam suis objurgatus peccatis, pcenitudinem gerens, de
cetero se emendaturum promisit ; et sic uterque de propriis
emendatus et sanatus est vitiis.
18Simili scientia Sanctus et alio tempore xenium alicujus
tenacis viri, inter multa cognovit xenia, Diormiti nomine, ad
Cellam Magnam 19Deathrib in ejus adventu collecta.
Haec de beati viri prophetica gratia, quasi de plurimis pauca,
in hujus libelli textu primi 20caraxasse sufficiat. Pauca dixi,
nam hoc de venerabili viro non est dubitandum quod valde
numerosiora fuerint quae in notitiam hominum, sacramenta
interius celata, venire nullo modo poterant, quam ea quae, quasi
1 tUul. om. C. D. F. S. Boll. 2 om. D. *-* om. C. D. F. S.
4 elni B 5 exeniis B. D. 6 exenia B. D.
7 signantur D. 8 exenium D. 9 diu B.
10 item D. n exenio D. 15J aedha D.
13 veram C. u veram add. D. 15 sancto add. D.
10 est D. " exenio D 18.21 mrlm C> D- F> S
19 dethrib B. 20 B craxasse A. exarasse Colg. Boll.
148 VITA SANCTI COLUMB^:. LIBER I.
qusedam parva aliquando stillicidia, veluti per quasdam rimulas
alicujus pleni vasis ferventissimo novo distillabant vino. Nam
sancti et apostolici viri, vanam evitantes gloriam, plerumque in
quantum possunt interna quaedam arcana, sibi intrinsecus a
Deo manifestata, celare festinant. Sed Deus nonnulla ex eis,
velint nolint ipsi, divulgat, et in medium quoquo profert modo,
videlicet glorificare volens glorificantes se Sanctos, hoc est,
ipsum Dominum, cui gloria in secula 21seculorum.22
23Huic primo libro 24hic imponitur terminus ; 25nunc sequens
26orditur 27liber de virtutum 28miraculis, 29quse plerumque etiam
prophetalis prsescientia 30comitatur.
18-21 om. C. D. F. S. 22 amen add. B. 23-28 rubrica B.
23 de B. 24 om. B. 25-27 capitula secundi libri incipiunt B.
20 oritur D. 29-30 A. C. D. F. S. om. B.
Seombi |Cibri indpiunt,
miraruli*.
PEDE vino quod de aqua factum est.
De amarissimis alicujus arboris pomis, in dulcedinem per Sancti
benedictionem versis.
De terra, post medium aestatis tempus arata et seminata, mensis
Augusti incipientis exordio maturam messem proferente.
De morbifera nube, et languentium sanitate.
De Mauguina sancta virgine, et fraetura coxae ejus sanata.
De multorum morbis fimbriae vestimenti ejus tactu, in Dorso
Cete, sanatis.
De petra salis a Sancto benedicta, quam ignis absumere non
potuit
De librariis foliis manu Sancti scriptis, quse aqua nullo modo
corrumpi potuere.
De aqua, quae, Sancto orante, ex dura producta est petra.
De aqua fontana, quam Sanctus ultra Britannicum benedixit
Dorsum, et sanavit.
De Sancti periculo in mari, et de magna tempestate in tran-
quillitatem continue, orante ipso, conversa.
De altero ejus periculo, et de sancto Cainnecho pro ipso et sociis
ejus orante.
De baculo in portu sancti Cainnechi neglecto.
De Baitheneo et Columbano filio Beognoi, qui a Sancto secun-
dum, eadem die, sed diversa via, ventum sibi dari postu-
larunt.
De daemonis repulsione qui in lactis vasculo latitabat.
De vasculo quod quidam maleficus, lacte de masculo bove
expresso, diabolica replevit arte ; sed, Sancto orante, ipsuin
quod videbatur lac, in sanguinem, hoc est, in naturam
propriam, versum est.
150 VITA SANCTI
De Lugneo Mocumin, quern Sanctus de profluvio sanguinis, qui
crebro ex naribus ejus profluebat, oratione et digitorum
tactu sanavit.
De esoce magDO in fluvio, juxta verbum Sancti, invento.
De duobus piscibus, illo prophetante, in flumine quod vocatur
Boo repertis.
De quodam plebeio qui Nesanus Curvus dicebatur.
De quodam divite tenacissimo, nomine Uigeno.
De Columbano seque plebeio viro, cujus pecora admodum pauca
vir sanctus benedixit ; sed post illius benedictionem usque
ad centenarium creverunt numerum.
De interitu Johannis filii Conallis, eadem die qua Sanctum
spernens dehonoravit.
De alicujus Feradachi morte, fraudulent viri, a Sancto prsenun-
ciata.
De alio persecutore, cujus nomen latine Manus Dextera dicitur.
De alio innocentium persecutore, qui in Laginensium provincia,
sicut Annanias coram Petro, eodem momento, a Sancto
terribiliter objurgatus, cecidit mortuus.
De apri mortificatione, qui a Sancto eminus cecidit, signo pro-
stratus Dominicae crucis.
De alia aquatili bestia, quse, eo orante, et manum e contra
levante, retro repulsa est ne Lugneo natanti vicino noceret.
De insulse longe viperinis serpentibus, qui, ex qua die Sanctus
earn benedixit, nulli hominum nee etiam pecoribus nocere
potuere.
De hasta ab eo signata, quae deinceps nullo modo, quamlibet
fortiter impulsa, alicui potuit nocere animanti.
De Diormiti segrotantis sanitate.
De Fenteni filii Aido, in extremis positi, sanitate.
De puero quern mortuum, in nomine Domini Jesu Christi, in
regione Pictorum, suscitavit.
De conflictu ejus contra magum Broichanum, ob ancillae reten-
tionem ; et de lapide quern Sanctus benedixit, qui in aqua
quasi pomum supernatavit.
De beat! viri contra Broichanum magum refragatione, et venti
contrarietate.
De spontanea regiae muuitionis portse subita apertione.
De ecclesias Duorum Agri Eivorum simili reclusione.
VITA SANCTI COLUMB^E. 151
De alio paupere, plebeio mendico, cui Sanctus, sudem faciens
benedixit, ad ferarum jugulationem silvestrium.
De utre lactario, quern unda maris abduxit, et reduxit ad
terrain.
De Librano Harundineti sancti prophetatio viri.
De quadam muliercula, magnas et valde difficiliores parturi-
tionis tortiones passa, et sanata.
De conjuge Lugnei odiosi gtibernatoris.
De Cormaco Nepote Lethani, et ejus navigationibus, sancti
Columbae prophetatio.
De venerabilis viri in curru evectione, absque currilium obicum
communitione.
De pluvia post aliquot siccitatis menses, beati ob honorem viri,
super sitientem, Domino donante, terram effusa.
Miraculum quod mine, Deo propitio, describere incipimus,
nostris temporibus factum, propriis inspeximus oculis :
De ventorum flatibus contrariis, venerabilis viri virtute ora-
tionum, in secundos conversis ventos.
De mortalitate.
LIBEK SECUNDUS.— DE VIETUTUM MIEACULIS.
2 g)e fcin0 qwrb be aqua fartttm tst.
CAP. I. j^LLIO 3in tempore, cum vir venerandus 4in 5Scotia apud
sanctum 6Findbarrum episcopum, adhuc juvenis, sapientiam
sacrse Scripturse addiscens, commaneret, quadam 7solenni die
vinum ad 8sacrificale mysterium casu aliquo minime invenie-
batur : de cujus defectu cum ministros altaris inter se conque-
rentes audiret, ad fontem sumpto 9pergit urceo, ut ad 10sacrge
Eucharistise "ministeria aquam, quasi 12diaconus, fontanam
"hauriret : ipse quippe illis in diebus erat in diaconatus gradu
administrans. Vir itaque beatus aquaticurn, quod de latice
hausit, elementum, invocato nomine 13Domini 14Jesu Christi,
fideliter benedixit, qui in 15Cana Galilese aquam 16in 17vinum
convertit : quo etiam 18in 19hoc operante miraculo, inferior, hoc
est aquatica natura, in gratiorem, videlicet vinalem, per manus
prsedicabilis viri conversa est speciem. Vir itaque sanctus, a
fonte reversus, et ecclesiam intrans, talem juxta altare urceum
intra se habentem deponit liquorem ; et ad ministros, Habetis,
ait, vinum, quod Dominus 20Jesus ad sua misit peragenda
mysteria. Quo cognito, sanctus cum 21ministris 22episcopus
eximias Deo referunt 23grates. Sanctus vero juvenis 24hoc non
sibimet, sed sancto 25Vinniano adscribebat episcopo. Hoc
1 titulus deest A. incipit secundus liber de virtutum miraculis quae
plenissime plerumque etiam prrescientia prophetalis comitatur B. incipit
liber secundus de virtutum miraculis C. F. S. sancti columbe add. D.
2 titul. om. C. D. F. S. Boll. 3 om. D. 4 columba add. D.
5 scothia C. hybernia D. c fenbarrum B. finbarrum D.
7 solemni A. sollenni D. 8 sacriticii D. 9 om. B.
10 sacra D. F. n mysteria Boll. 12 diacon A.
13 om. B. C. H nostri add. D. 15 chana B.
16-17 om. A. 18-19 om. C. 19 om. D.
20 christus C. 21 om. D. 22 episcopo D.
23 gratia* C. '-'* columba add. D. 25 A. B. F. S. fmbarro D.
VITA SANCTI COLUMByE. LIBER II. 153
itaque 26protum virtutis documentum Christus Dominus per
suum declaravit discipulum, quod in eadem re, initium ponens
signorum in 27Cana Galilese, operatus est per semetipsum.
28Hujus, inquam, libelli, quasi qusedam lucerna, illustret exor
dium, quod per nostrum Columbam diale manifestatum est
miraculum ; ut deinceps transeamus ad cetera, quae per ipsum
ostensa sunt, virtutum 29miracula.
aliotjtt* arbxrri^ fnirtu amar0 jp&c sanrti bmebiciumim
itt
arbor erat valde pomosa prope monasterium CAP. n.
2Eoboris Campi, in australi ejus parte; de qua cum incolae loci
3quoddam haberent pro nimia fructus amaritudine querimonium,
quadam die Sanctus 4ad 6eam accessit autumnali tempore,
vidensque lignum incassum abundos habere fructus qui ex eis
gustantes plus laederent quam delectarent ; 6sancta elevata
manu, benedicens ait, In nomine omnipotentis Dei omnis tua
amaritudo, 0 arbor amara, a te recedat ; tuaque hue usque
amarissima nunc in dulcissima vertantur poma. Mirum dictu,
dicto citius, eodemque momento, ejusdem arboris omnia poma,
amissa amaritudine, in miram, secundum verbum Sancti, versa
sunt dulcedinem.
tt in
rrcante, m^00a, in
5in tempore Sanctus 6suos misit monachos ut de ali- CAP. in.
cujus plebeii agellulo virgarum fascicules ad hospitium afferrent
construendum. Qui cum ad Sanctum, 7oneraria repleta navi de
supradictis 8virgularum materiis, reversi venirent, dicerentque
plebeium ejusdem causa dispendii valde contristatum ; Sanctus
consequenter prsecipiens 9dicit, Ne ergo 10illum scandalizemus
virum, ad ipsum a nobis bis terni deferantur hordei modii,
eosdemque his nin diebus arata ipse seminet in terra. Quibus
26 F. pro turn A. Colg. Boll, primum C. promptum D.
27 coena male Boll. 28 litera H. majuscula ccerulea B. 28-29 om. C. D. F. S.
1 titul. om., cap. i. continuatur, C. D. F. S. Boll. 2 diarmagh D.
3 quondam C. 4-5 om. D. 6 sanctus D.
1 titul. om. C. D. F, S. Boll. 2 agusti A. 3 mense A.
4 A. iona B. 5 om> j) o columba add. D.
7 onera D. 8 virgarum D. 9 dixit D.
16 om. C. n om. D.
154 VITA SANCTI COLUMB/E. LIBER II.
ad plebeium, 12Findchanum nomine, juxta Sancti jussionem,
missis, et coram eo cum tali commendatione adsignatis, gra-
tanter accipiens, ait, Quomodo post medium 138esteum tempus
seges seminata, contra hujus naturam terrse, proficiet ? Marita
e contra, Fac, ait, secundum Sancti mandatum, cui Dominus
donabit quodcunque ab eo postulaverit. Sed et qui missi sunt
simul hoc addiderunt dicendo, Sanctus Columba, qui nos ad te
cum hoc misit munere, hoc mandatum per nos de tua com-
mendavit segete, dicens, Homo ille in omnipotentia Dei con-
fid at : u seges 15ejus, quamvis de mense Junio 16duodecim
prsemissis diebus seminata17, in 18principiis 19Augusti mensis
metetur. Obsequitur plebeius 20arando et seminando ; et mes-
sem, quam supradicto 21in tempore 22 contra 23spem seminavit,
cum omnium admiratione vicinorum in exordio 19Augusti
mensis maturam, juxta verbum Sancti, 24messuit, 25in loco terras
qui dicitur 26Delcros.
X5^ m0rbi£era nub*, ,et piurimtfrtim sanitate.
CAP. iv. JPtLIO 2itidem 3in tempore, cum Sanctus in 4Ioua 5commo-
raretur insula, sedens in monticulo qui Latine Munitio Magna
dicitur, videt ab aquilone nubem densam et 6pluvialem, de
7mari 8die serena obortam : qua ascendente visa, Sanctus ad
quendam de suis juxta se monachum sedentem, nomine 9Sil-
nanum, 10filium uNemani-don 13Mocusogin, Hsec nubes, ait,
valde nocua hominibus et pecoribus erit ; hacque die velocius
trans volans super aliquantam Scotiae partem, uhoc est, ab illo
rivulo qui dicitur Ailbine usque ad Vadum 15Clied, pluviam
vespere distillabit morbiferam, 16quse gravia 17et purulenta
humanis in corporibus, et in pecorum uberibus, 18nasci faciet
ulcera ; quibus homines morbidi et pecudes, ilia venenosa gravi-
tudine usque ad mortem molestati, laborabunt. Sed nos eorum
miserati subvenire languoribus, Domino miseraate, debemus.
Tu ergo, 19Silnane, nunc mecum descendens de monte, naviga-
tionem praepara crastina die, vita comite et Deo volente, a me
12 findcanum B. frindehanum C. finchanum D. 13 sestivum C.
14-16 om. C. 16 A. C. quindecim B. D. F. 17 fuerit add. D.
18 principio D. 19 tamen add. D. agusti A. 2° or an do B..
21 om. D. 22-23 om. D. ^ viri add. D.
^-^ om. C. D. F. S. 26 A. B. deleros Colg. Boll.
1 titul. om. C. D. F. S. Boll. 2 om. B. 3 om. D.
4 A. C. F. S. iona B. D. 5 commaneret D. 6 pluialem A.
7-8 meridie C. 9 A. F. S. siluanum B. C. sillanum D.
10.13 (ynit Q D. j\ s. n nemai don A. n-13 nemaidonmocusogin B.
14-15 om. C. D. F. S. 15 cleeth B. 16 et D. 17 om. D.
18 qu« add. D. 19 A. F. S. siluane B. C. sillane D.
VITA SANCTI COLUMB.E. LIBER II. 155
pane accepto, Dei invocato nomine 20benedicto, quo in 21aqua
intincto, homines ea conspersi, et pecora, celerem recuperabunt
salutem. Quid moramur ? Die crastina, his quae necessaria
erant citius prseparatis, 22 Silnanus, accepto de manu Sancti
pane benedicto, in pace enavigavit. Cui Sanctus, a se eadem
emigranti hora, 23addit hoc 24consolatorium verbum, dicens,
Confide, fili, ventos habebis secundos et prosperos die noctuque,
usque 25dum ad illam pervenias regionem 26quse dicitur Ard
27Ceannachte, ut languentibus ibidem celerius cum salubri sub-
venias pane. Quid plura ? 28 Silnanus, verbo obsecutus Sancti,
prospera et 29celeri 30navigatione, auxiliante Domino, ad supra
memoratam perveniens partem illius regionis, plebem de qua
Sanctus prsedixerat devastatam nubis prsedictse morbifera re-
periit pluvia 31superpluente, citius 32prsecurrentis. Inprimisque
bis terni viri in eadem mari vicina domo reperti in extremis
morte positi appropinquante, ab eodem 33Silnano aqua benedic-
tionis aspersi, in eodem 34die opportunius sanati sunt. Cujus
subitse sanationis rumor, per totam illam, morbo 35pestilentiore
vastatam, regionem cito divulgatus, onmem morbidum ad sancti
Columbse legatum invitavit populum ; qui, juxta Sancti man-
datum, homines et pecora pane 36intincta benedicto aqua con-
spersit, et continuo plenam recuperantes salutem, homines, cum
pecudibus salvati, Christum in sancto Columba cum eximia
gratiarum actione laudarunt. In hac 37itaque suprascripta
narration e, ut sestimo, duo hsec manifeste pariter 38comitantur ;
hoc est, gratia prophetationis de nube, et virtutis miraculum in
eegrotantium 39sanitate. Hsec per omnia esse verissima, supra-
dictus 40 Silnanus, Christi miles, sancti legatus Columbse, coram
41Segineo abbate et ceteris testatus est senioribus.
Jlaimmi #lia qme inhabitateat in
ffimrmn
in 5tempore Sanctus,6 cum in 7Ioua demoraretur CAP. v.
insula, prima diei hora, quendam 8advocans fratrem,9Lugaidum
20 ad scotiam transfretato add. S. 21 aquam C.
22 A. B. F. S. siluanus C. sillanus D. 23 addidit D.
24 etiam add. C. 2* om. A. 26-27 om. C. D. F. S.
27 cenacte B. 2§ A. B. F. S. siluanus C. sillanus D.
29 sceleri B. so enavigatione D. 3l superfluente C.
32 prsecurrens F. 33 A. B. F. S. siluano C. sillano D.
34 om. B. 35 pestilencie B. 36 A. B. F. intincto C. D.
37 equidem D. 3« comittuntur B. 39 sanctitate C.
40 A. B. F. S. siluanus C. sillanus D. 41 segeneo C. D.
1 titul. om. C. D. F. S. Boll. 2 mauguina B.
3 loco qui scottice dicitur add. B. clocher B. 4-5 om. D.
6 columba add. D. 7 A. C. F. S. iona B. D. 8 advocat F.
9 lugaidium B. lugidum D.
156 VITA SANCTI COLUMI3/E. LIBEK II.
nomine, 10cujus cognomentmn Scotice Lathir ndicitur; et
taliter eum compellat, dicens, Praepara cito ad 12Scotiam cele-
rem navigationem, nam mihi valde est necesse te usque ad
13 Clocherum 14filiorum 15Daimeni destinare legatum. In hac
enim praeterita nocte, casu aliquo, 16Maugina, sancta virgo,
17filia 18Daimeni, ab oratorio post missam domum reversa, titu-.
bavit, coxaque ejus in duas confracta est partes. Haec saepius
meum, inclamitans, nomen commemorat, a Domino sperans se
accepturam per me consolationem. 19Quidplura? 20Lugaido
obsecundanti, et consequenter emigranti, Sanctus pineam tradit
cum benedictione 21capsellam, dicens, Benedictio, quae in hac
22capsellula continetur, quando ad 23Mauginam pervenies visi-
tandam, in 24 aquae vasculum intingatur, eademque benedic-
tionis aqua super ejus infundatur coxam ; et statim, invocato
Dei nomine, coxale conjungetur os, et densabitur; et sancta
virgo plenam recuperabit salutem. Et hoc Sanctus 25addit, En
ego 26coram in 27hujus 28capsae operculo numerum viginti trium
annorum 29describo, quibus sacra virgo in hac prsesenti, 30post
eandem 31 salutem, victura est vita. 32Quse omnia sic plene
expleta sunt, sicuti a Sancto praedicta : nam statim ut 33Lu-
gaidus ad sanctam pervenit virginem, aqua benedicta, sicut
Sanctus commendavit, perfusa coxa, sine ulla morula conden-
sato osse, plene sanata est ; et in adventu ^legati sancti Col-
umbae cum ingenti gratiarum actione gavisa, viginti tribus annis,
secundum Sancti prophetiam, post sanitatem, in bonis actibus
permanens, vixit.
l.e his qnx in glxrrsxr 2dtate 8jttraxt« znnt btb.er0.anim
CAP. vi. ^SIIE vitas praedicabilis, 4 sicuti nobis ab expertis traditumi
est, diversorum languores infirmorum, invocato Christi nomine,
illis in diebus sanavit, quibus, ad regum pergens condictum in
5Dorso 6Cette, brevi commoratus est tempore. Nam aut sanctse
10-n om. C. D. F. S. 12 hyberniam D, 13 chiliocherum C. clochor D. !
14'15 om. C. D. F. S. 16 inauguina B. magnia D.
17-18 om. C. D. F. S. 19 et add. D. 20 luigido D.
21 capsulani D. 22 capsula D. 23 mauguinam B. maguiani D.
21 aqua C. a> addidit D. 26 A. B. ponam C. Colg. Boll, dico D. :
27 ejus B. 28 capsulse C. 29 B. om. A. C. D. F. S.
30 vita add. S. 31 om. S. 32 ponam add. S.
33 lugidus D. 34 om. C.
1 titul om. C. D. F. S. Boll. 2 cete B. 3 peracta B.
4 columba add. D. 5'6 colle qui vocatur druim chead D.
6 cete B. caetae C. cettae F.
VITA SANCTI COLUMILE. LIBER IT. 157
manus protensione, ant aqua ab eo benedicta, aegroti plures
aspersi, aut etiam fimbriae ejus tactu 7amphibali, aut alicujus
rei, sails videlicet vel panis, benedictione accepta, et lymphis
intincta, plenam credentes recuperarunt salutem.
pttra #ali0 a s&ndo btntoidz, xjuam igni0 &b#nmer£
non potttit
itidem in tempore, 3Colgu filius Cellachi 4postulatam CAP. VIT.
5 a Sancto 6petram 7salis 8benedictam accipit, sorori et suae
nutrici 9profuturam, 10quse ophthalmias laborabat valde gravi
11languore. Talem eulogiam eadem soror et nutricia de mami
fratris accipiens, in pariete super lectum suspendit; casuque
post aliquantos contigit dies, ut idem viculus, cum supradictae
domuncula feminae, flamma vastante, totus concremaretur.
Mirum dictu, illius parietis particula, ne beati viri in ea de-
periret suspensa benedictio, post totam ambustam domum, stans
illsesa permansit; nee ignis ausus est attingere binales, in
quibus 12talis pendebat 13salis 14petra, sudes.
$ibrarixr folio 0an£ti mantt Ibtzvciyto,
rorrumpi non pxrttut.
2miraculum asstimo non tacendum, quod aliquando CAP. vm.
factum est per contrarium elementum. Multorum namque
transcursis annorum circulis post beati 3ad Dominum transitum
viri, quidam juvenis de equo lapsus in flumine, 4quod Scotice
5Boend 6vocitatur, mersus et mortuus, viginti sub aqua diebus
permansit ; qui, sicuti sub 7ascella, cadens, libros in pelliceo
reconditos sacculo habebat, ita etiam post supra memoratum
dierum numerum est repertus, sacculum cum libris inter
8 brachium et latus continens ; cujus etiam ad aridam reportato
cadavere, et aperto sacculo, folium sancti Columbae sanctis
scriptum 9digitulis, inter aliorum folia librorum non tantum
7 C. D. anfibali A. B. (vid. var. led. 12, p. 117, supra] amfibali F. ansibali
Colg. ainphilabi Boll.
1 titul. om. 0. D. F. S. Boll, in gmbus cap. v. continuatur.
>2A om. D. '•> colgiu B. 5 quidam homo add. D.
c columba D. 7 sai 33 8 benedictum D.
9 profuturum D. 10 oculorum dolori add. D.
11 id est oculorum dolore add. C. l'2 tale D. ir> sal D. 14 om. I).
1 titul. om. C. D. F. S. Boll. 2 ut add, p. 3 columbe add. D.
4-° om. C. D. F. S. 5 bofind B. 7 asena C. assella D. axilla Boll.
8 mamnn D. 9 digitis D.
158 VITA SANCTI COLUMB^. LIBEE II.
corrupta sed et putrefacta, inventum est 10siccum net nullo
modo corruptum, ac si in 12scriniolo esset reconditum.
l^z alixr Jfttraotb in xz 0imili
in tempore, hymnorum liber septimaniorum sancti
Columbse manu descriptus, de cujusdam pueri de ponte elapsi
humeris, cum pelliceo in quo inerat sacculo, in quodam partis
Laginorum fluvio submersus cecidit. Qui videlicet libellus, a
Natalitio Domini usque ad Paschalium consummationem
dierum in aquis permanens, postea in ripa fluminis a feminis
quibusdam ibidem deambulantibus repertus, ad quendam
logenanum presbyterum, gente Pictum, cujus prius juris erat, in
eodem, non solum madefacto, sed etiam putrefacto, portatur
sacculo. Quern scilicet sacculum idem logenanus aperiens,
suum incorruptum libellum invenit, et ita nitidum et siccum,
ac si in scrinio tanto permansisset tempore, et nunquam in
aquas cecidisset. Sed et alia de libris manu sancti Columbas
2caraxatisj3imilia ab expertis indubitanter didicimus in diversis
acta locis : qui scilicet Kbri, in aquis mersi, nullo modo corrumpi
potuere. De 3 supra memorato vero 4Iogenani libro a viris
quibusdam veracibus et perfectis bonique testimonii, sine ulla
ambiguitate, relationem accepimus ; qui eundem libellum, post
tot supradictos submersionis dies, candidissimum et lucidissi-
mum considerarunt.
Hsec duo, quamlibet in rebus parvis peracta, et per contraria
ostensa elementa, ignem scilicet et aquam, beati testantur
honorern viri, et quanti et qualis meriti apud habeatur
5Dominum.
X5e aqtta xjw^ zzncio xn&ntt tx imra ynrbuda t&t
CAP. ix. .Ji^T quia paulo superius aquatici facta est mentio elementi,
silere non debemus 3 etiam alia miracula, quse per Sanctum
Dominus ejusdem in re, licet diversis temporibus et locis,
creaturse 4peregit. 6Alio namque 6in tempore, cum Sanctus in
sua 7conversaretur 8peregrinatione, 9infans 10ei per parentes nad
10-u om. C. D. 12 scrinio C. D.
1 capitid. totum om. C. D. F. S. titul. om. Boll. 2 craxatis A.
3 supramemorati B. 4 eugenani A. 5 deutu B.
IA titul. rubrica script. B. om. C. F. S. 1-8 om. D.
2 petro A. 3 et B. 6 incipit cap. vi. 0. F. S.
6 om. C. 7 versaretur C. 9 quodam die add. D.
10 sancto columbe iter agenti D. n est D.
VITA SANCTI COLUMILE. LIBER IT. 159
baptizandum 12offertur 13iter 13agenti ; et quia in vicinis aqua
non inveniebatur locis, Sanctus, ad proximam declinans rupem,
flexis genibus paulisper oravit, et post orationem surgens,
ejusdem rupis ufrontem benedixit; 15de qua consequenter
aqua 16abundanter ebulliens fluxit ; in 17qua continue 18infantem
baptizavit. De quo 19etiam baptizato haec, vaticinans, intulit
verba, inquiens, Hie puerulus usque 20in extremam 21longaevus
vivet setatem ; in annis juvenilibus carnalibus desideriis satis
serviturus, et deinceps Christianas usque 22in exitum militias
mancipandus, in bona senectute ad Dominum emigrabit. Quae
omnia eidem viro juxta Sancti contigerunt vaticinium. 23Hic
erat 24Lugucencalad, cujus parentes fuerant in 25Artdaib
Muirchol, ubi 26hodieque 27fonticulus, ^sancti nomine Columbee
^pollens, cernitur.
alia tnaltjjna fcrntana aqua xjwam toir b*at«0 in Jlidxmttn
regioue bentbtxit.
in 3tempore, vir beatus, 4cum in Pictorum provincia .CAP. x.
per aliquot demoraretur dies, audiens in plebe gentili de alio
fonte divulgari famam, quern quasi 5deum stolidi homines,
diabolo eorum obcsecante sensus, venerabantur ; 6nam de eodem
7fonticulo bibentes, aut in eo manus vel pedes de industria
lavantes, daemoniaca, Deo permittente, percussi arte, aut
8leprosi, aut lusci, aut etiam debiles, aut quibuscunque aliis
infestati infirmitatibus 9revertebantur. Ob quas omnia seducti
gentiles divinum fonti deferebant honorem. Quibus compertis,
Sanctus alia die intrepidus accessit ad fontem. Quod videntes
magi, quos 10S8epe ipse confuses et victos a se repellebat, valde
gavisi sunt, scilicet putantes eum similia illius nocuaa tactu
aquae passurum. Hie vero imprimis elevata manu sancta, cum
invocatione Christi nominis, manus lavat et pedes ; ntum
deinde cum sociis de eadem, a se benedicta, 12bibit. Ex illaque
die dsemones ab eodem recesserunt fonte, et non solum nulli
12 oblatus D. 13 om. D. 14 fontem C.
15 ex qua quidem rupe aqua profluit add. D. 16-17 om. D.
18 infantuluin D. ly et C. 20 ad C.
21 B. longeus A. vide var. lect. 26, p. 141. 22 ad B.
23-26 om. C. D. F. S. 24 ligu cencalad A. lugucen calath B.
25 ardaib muircol B. 27 et qui add C. qui add. D.
28 adhuc add. C. D. F. S. 29 ibidem add. C, D. F. S.
1 titul. om. C. D. F. S. Boll., cap. vi. continual ur. 2'3 om. D.
4 columba add. D. 5 divinum C. D. c-9 om. Colg. Bo]l.
7 fonte D. 8 lepri A. 10 om. D.
11 tune D. 12 aqua add. C. aqua manu corratoris suprascriptum F.
1 60 VITA SANCTI COLUMB/E. LIBER II.
nocere permissus est, sed etiam, post Sancti benedictionem et
in eo lavationein, multae in populo infirmitates per eundem
sanatse sunt fontem.
l]Bt btzti toiri in mart ymtnlo, ti tempwrtati* 2to xrrante
0ttbita 0*fo attune.
CAP. xi. 3JSLLIO in tempore, 4vir sanctus 5in mari periclitari ccepit ;
totum 6namque vas navis, valde concussum, magnis undarum
cumulis fortiter feriebatur, grandi undique insistente ventorum
tempestate. Nautse 7tum forte Sancto, 8sentinam cum illis
exhaurire conanti, 9aiunt, Quod nunc agis non magnopere nobis
10proficit periclitantibus ; exorare potius debes pro pereuntibus.
Quo audito, aquam cessat amaram exinanire, 11hininglas ; dul-
cem vero et intentam precem coepit ad Dominum fundere.
Mirum dictu, eodem horse momento, quo Sanctus, in prora
stans, extensis ad coelum palmis, Omnipotentem exoravit, tota
aeris tempestas et maris saevitia, dicto citius sedata, cessavit, et
statim serenissima tranquillitas 12subsecuta est. Qui vero
13navi 14inerant, obstupefacti, cum magna admiratione, referentes
gratias, glorificaverunt 15 Dominum in sancto et prsedicabili
viro.
L$t alixr tm in mari 0imili
CAP. xii. ^i-LIO 4quoque 4in tempore, saeva nimis insistente et peri-
culosa tempestate, sociis, ut pro eis Sanctus Dominum exoraret,
5inclamitantibus ; hoc eis dedit responsum, dicens, Hac in die
non est meum pro vobis in hoc periculo constitutis orare, sed
est abbatis 6Cainnichi, sancti viri. Mira dicturus sum. Eadem
hora sanctus 7Cainnichus, in suo 8conversans monasterio, quod
9Latine Campulus Bovis dicitur, 10Scotice vero nAched-bou,
Spiritu revelante Sancto, supradictam sancti Columbae interiore
cordis aure vocem audierat ; et cum 12 forte post nonam coapisset
horam in 13refectorio 14eulogiam frangere, ocius deserit mensu-
lam, 15unoque 16in pede inhserente calceo, et altero 17pro nimia
1 tltul. om. C. D. F. S. Boll. 2 am. B. 3-4 om. D.
5 columba aliquando add. D. 6 que D.
7-9 ad sanctum exhaurientem secum aquam adeunt D. 8 om. C.
10 proficitis D. n hinin glas A. hinninglas B. om, C. D. F. S.
12 supersecuta C. 13'u in navi eraut C. D. F. S. 15 deum B. D.
1 tltul. om. C. D. F. S. Boll. 2 in vortice brecain add. B.
•5 cap. vii. contin. C. D. F. S. 4 om. D. 5 clamitantibus D.
6 cahinnichi C. cainnici D. 7 cahinnichus C. 8 commanens D.
9-T1 scotice dicitur achadh bo .i. ager vacarum D. 10-11 om. C. F. S.
11 A. acbetbbou B. 12 om. D. 13 oratorio C. D.
14 eylogiam sic cap. vii. (p. 157) supra (litera Y ex <jra>ca Y efficta) A.
15 in uno C. D. 16 om. B. 17 ne C.
VITA SANCTI COLUMB^E. LIBER II. 161
festinatione relicto, festinanter 18pergit hac cum voce ad
ecclesiam, Non est nobis nunc 19temporis prandere quando in
mari periclitatur navis sancti Columbae. Hoc enim momento,
ipse 20hujus nomen Cainnichi ingeminans commemorat, ut pro
eo et sociis periclitantibus 21 Christum 22exoret. Post hsec illius
verba oratorium ingressus, flexis genibus paulisper oravit;
ejusque orationem exaudiente Domino, illico tempestas cessavit,
et mare valde tranquillum factum est. Turn deinde sanctus
Columba, Cainnichi ad ecclesiam 23properationem in spiritu
videns, quamlibet longe conversantis, mirabiliter hoc de puro
pectore profert verbum, dicens, Nunc cognovi, 0 24Cainniche,
quod Deus tuam exaudierit precem ; nunc valde nobis proficit
tuus ad ecclesiam velox cum uno calceamento cursus. In hoc
itaque tali miraculo amborum, ut credimus, oratio cooperata est
Sanctorum.
r, n
in tempore, idem supra memoratus Cainnichus suum, CAP. xm.
a portu 3Iouae insulse ad 4Scotiam navigare incipiens, baculum
secum portare oblitus 5est ; qui scilicet ejus baculus, post ipsius
egressum in litore repertus, sancti in manum traditus est
Columbse ; quemque, domum reversus, in oratorium portat, et
ibidem solus in oratione diutius demoratur. Cainnichus pro-
inde ad 60idecham appropinquans insulam, subito de sua obli-
vione compunctus, interius perculsus est. Sed post modicum
intervallum, de navi descendens, et in terra cum oratione genua
flectens, baculum, quern in portu 7 louse insulse oblitus post se
reliquit, super cespitem terrulse 8Aithche ante se 9invenit. De
cujus etiam effecta divinitus evectione valde est miratus cum
gratiarum in Deo actione.
e jtaitkentcr zt Cxrlumban0 filixr
eab^m sibi bu benttim $K0&ipmm a Domino per teti biri xrca-
tixrnem bxrnari
quoque in tempore, superius 4memorati sancti viri ad CAP. xiv.
5 Sanctum venientes, ab eo simul unanimes 6postulant ut ipse a
18 pen-exit D. J» tempus C. 20 ejus B. ora. C. D.
21 om. C. D. 22 oraret D. 23 prasparationem C.
24 cainneche B. cahinniclie C.
1 capitul totum om. C. D. F. S. titul om. Boll. 2 cainechi B.
3 ione B. 4 scociam B. 5 om. B.
6 A. ouidecham B. 7 ione B. 8 ouidechae B. 9 positum add. B.
1 titul. om. C. D. F. S. Boll. 2 beognoi B. 3-4 aliquando D.
5 beatam columbam D. 6 postulabant D.
L
162 VITA SANCTI COLUMB^E. LIBER II.
Domino 7postulans 7impetraret prosperum crastina die venturn
sibi dari diversa emigraturis via. Quibus Sanctus respondens,
hoc dedit responsum, 8Mane crastina die, 9Baitheneus, a portu
10Iouae enavigans insulse, flatum uhabebit secundum usquequo
ad portum perveniat Campi 12Lunge. Quod ita, juxta Sancti
verbum, Dominus donavit : nam 9Baitheneus plenis eadem die
velis magnum totumque pelagus usque ad 13Ethicam transme-
avit terram. 14Hora vero ejusdem diei tertia, vir venerandus
Columbanum 15advocat presbyterum dicens, Nunc Baitheneus
prospere optatum pervenit ad portum : ad navigandum te 16hodie
17pr8epara; mox 18 Dominus ventum convertet in aquilonem.
Cui sic prolato beati viri verbo eadem hora auster obsecundans
19 ventus se in aquiloneum convertit flatum ; et ita in eadem die
uterque vir sanctus, alter ab altero in pace aversus, Baitheneus
mane ad 20Ethicam terram, Columbanus post meridiem 21Hiber-
niam incipiens appetere, plenis enavigavit velis et flatibus
secundis. Hoc illustris viri virtute orationum, Domino donante,
effectum est miraculum ; quia, sicut scriptum est, Omnia possi-
bilia sunt credenti. Post ilia in die sancti Columbani egres-
sum, sanctus hoc de illo propheticum Columba protulit verbum,
Vir sanctus Columbanus, cui emigranti benediximus, 22nusquam
in hoc saeculo faciem videbit meam. Quod ita post expletum
est, nam eodem anno sanctus Columba ad Dominum transiit.
rjtti in Ikctari0 ktitabat
CAP. xv. 2 j5Cuo 3^n 4tempore, quidam juvenis, Columbanus nomine,
5Nepos 6 Briuni, 7ad januam 8 tugurioli subito perveniens res-
titit, in quo vir beatus 9scribebat. Hie idem, post vaccarum
reversus mulsionem, in dorso portans vasculum novo plenum
lacte, dicit ad Sanctum, ut juxta 10morem tale benediceret onus.
Sanctus turn ex adverse eminus in aere signum salutare manu
elevata depinxit, quod illico valde concussum est, 11gergennaque
operculi, per sua bina foramina retrusa, longius projecta est,
12operculum terra tenus cecidit, lac ex 13majore rnensura in
solum defusum est. Juvenculus vas, cum parvo quod remans-
7 ora. D. 8 om. B. 9 battheneus C. baithenus D.
10 ione B. D. n habebat B. 12 lugne D.
13 aethicam A. 14 hie D. 15 om. D.
16 om. D. 17 propera D. 18 enim add. D. 19 ventis A.
20 etheticam A. 21 everniam A. 22 nunquam E.
i titul om.C. D. F. S. Boll. 2-* om. D. 3 qu0que add. C.
fi-6 om. C. D. F. S. 7 qui add. C. D. 8 B. C. D. F. S. tegorioli A. ;
9 colnmba erat D. 10 om. D. n gergenaqite D.
12 vasque D. 13 more D.
VITA SANCTI COLUMB/E. LIBEll II. 1G3
erat lactis, super fundum in terra deponit, genua suppliciter
14flectit. Ad quem Sanctus, Surge, ait, 15Columbane, hodie in
tua operatione negligenter egisti, dsemonem enim in fundo vacui
latitantem vasculi, impresso Dominicee crucis signo, ante 16infu-
sionem lactis, non effugasti : cujus videlicet signi nunc virtu-
tern non sustinens, tremefactus, toto pariter turbato vase, velo-
citer cum lactis effusione aufugit. 17Huc ergo ad me proprius
vasculum, ut illud benedicam, approxima. Quo facto, Sanctus
semivacuum 18quod 19benedixerat vas, 20eodem momento divini-
tus repletum repertum est ; parvumque quod prius in fundo
vasis remanserat, sub sanctse manus benedictione, usque ad
summam citius excreverat.
^zscnlo qnob -quifoam maleffni* nrrmira <Silnmm£ Izdt
fo mnscnla bobt exyxussa «ylcberat.
2in domo alicujus plebeii divitis, 3qui in monte Cainle CAP. xvi.
commorabatur, Foirtgirni nomine, factum 4traditur. Ubi 5cum
Sanctus hospitaretur, inter rusticanos contendentes duos, quo
rum prius adventum prsescivit, recta judicatione judicavit :
unusque ex eis, qui maleficus erat, 6a Sancto jussus, de bove
masculo, qui prope erat, lac arte diabolica expressit: quod
Sanctus, non ut ilia confirmaret maleficia, fieri jussit, quod
absit ; sed ut ea coram multitudine destrueret. Vir itaque
beatus vas, ut videbatur tali plenum lacte, sibi ocius dari popo-
scit ; et hac cum sententia benedixit dicens, Modo probabitur
non esse hoc verum, quod 7putatur, lac, sed dsemonum fraude,
ad decipiendos homines, decoloratus sanguis : et continue lac-
teus ille color in naturam versus 8est propriam, hoc est, in
sanguinem. Bos quoque, qui per unius horse momentum, turpi
macie tabidus et maceratus, erat morti proximus, benedicta a
Sancto aqua superfusus, mira 9sub celeritate sanatus est.
1^e Jin%nto JExrmmin.
Cl^UADAM die quidambonse indolis juvenis,Lugneus nomine, CAP. xvu.
qui postea senex in monasterio 2Elenae insulse prsepositus erat,
14 flexit C. D. « columba C. D. 1G effusionem D.
17 hoc C. 18 om. C. D. i9 benedixit D. 20 eodemque C. D.
1 titul. om. C. D. F. S. Boll. 2 factnm subsequetis C. D.
3-4 om. C. D. F. S. 5 om> lx o et a^ p.
7 putabatur B. C. D. F. 8 om. B. C. 9 om. D.
1 titul. om. C. D. F. S. Boll. 2 A. B. helene C. D. F. S.
164 VITA SANCTI COLUMB^E. LIBER II.
ad Sanctum veniens, 3queritur de 4profluvio sanguinis, qui
crebro per multos menses de naribus ejus immoderate proflue-
bat. Quo propius accito, Sanctus ambas 5ipsius nares binis
manus dexterse digitulis constringens benedixit. Ex qua hora
benedictionis, nunquam sanguis de naso ejus usque ad extremum
distillavit diem.
bt&to toirxr gptti&liter a JBta
xvni JP^tJLIO 5in tempore, cum praedicabilis viri 6sociales, strenui
piscatores, quinos in rete pisces cepissent in fluvio Sale 7piscoso,
Sanctus ad eos, 8iterato, ait, Kete in flumen mittite, et statim
invenietis grandem, quern mihi Dominus prseparavit, piscem.
Qui, verbo Sancti obtemperantes, mirae magnitudinis traxerunt
in 9retiaculo 10esocem a Deo sibi prseparatum.
CAP. xix. J^LLIO quoque in tempore, cum Sanctus juxta Cei Stagnum
aliquantis demoraretur diebus, comites ire ad piscandum
cupientes retardavit, dicens, Hodie et eras nullus in flumine
reperietur piscis : tertia mittam vos die, et invenietis binos
grandes, in rete retentos, fluminales 12esoces. Quos ita post
duas dieculas, rete mittentes, duos rarissimse magnitudinis, in
fluvio qui dicitur 13Bo reperientes, ad terrain traxerunt. In his
duabus memoratis piscationibus, miraculi apparet virtus et
prophetica simul praescientia comitata, pro quibus Sanctus et
socii Deo grates eximias 14reddiderunt.
^z Jtoattcr 2nttbtf xjtit in m xtQiont 3rxrnber0abatur
i rxmtermina.
CAP. xx. llJC Nesanus, cum esset valde inops, sanctum alio tempore
gaudenter hospitio recepit virum. Cui cum hospitaliter
secundum vires, unius noctis spatio ministrasset, Sanctus ab eo
3 columbam add. D. 4 fluvio D. 5 illius F.
1 titul. om. C. D. E. S. Boll.
2-3 esoce magno in fluvio sale juxta verbum sancti inveiito B.
4 in C. D. F. S. hoc capUul. post ii. 27 subsequitur, et ambo in lib. iii.
amandantur. 4-5 quodam D. 6 scotiales C. D. F. S.
7 piscosos D. 8 om. D. 9 rethe "D.
10 essocem A. F. chocem C.
11 capit. novum orditur, cui prcefigitur titulus de duobus piscibus illo pro-
phetante in flumine quod vocitatur boo repertis B.
n-14 om. 0. D. F. S. 12 essoces A. sic supra. 13 boo B.
. J titul. et cap. totum om. C. D. F. S. 2 cervo B. 3 conversabat B.
VITA SANCTI COLUMB.E. LIBER II. 165
4inquirit, cujus boculas numeri haberet: ille ait, Quinque.
Sanctus consequenter, Ad me, ait, adduc, ut eas benedicam.
Quibus adductis, et elevata maim sancta benedictis, Ab hac die
tuse paueulse quinque vacculse crescent, ait Sanctus, usque ad
centum et quinque vaccarum numerum. Et quia idem Nesanus
homo plebeius erat, cum uxore et filiis, hoc etiam ei vir beatus
benedictionis augmentum intulit, dicens, Erit semen tuum in
filiis et nepotibus benedictum. Quse omnia plene, juxta ver-
Tbum Sancti, sine ulla expleta sunt imminutione.
|_5<H^E quodam viro divite tenacissimo, nomine 6Uigenio, qui CAP- XXL
sanctum Columbam despexerat nee eum hospitio recepit, hanc
e contrario protulit prophetalem sententiam, inquiens, Illius
autem avari divitise, qui Christum in peregrinis hospitibus
sprevit, ab hac die paulatim imminuentur, et ad nihilum redi-
gentur; et ipse mendicabit; et filius ejus cum semivacua de
domo in domum perula discurret; et, ab aliquo ejus emulo
securi in fossula excussorii percussus, morietur. Quse omnia
de utroque, juxta sancti prophetiam viri, plene sunt 7expleta.]
xqnt ptebdxr toirxr, otju0 psccrra abmxrtmm
pamra toir 0artjcttt# bmebtxii ; &eb pxrst illms> ben.ebirii.cmem
tittle ab centenarmm nrefcertmt tmmerum.
.J9LLIO 2quoque 8tempore, vir beatus 4quadam nocte, cum CAP. xxn.
apud 5 supra 6memoratum Columbanum 7tunc temporis inopem,
bene 7hospitaretur, mane primo Sanctus, 8sicuti superius de
Nesano commemoratum 9(est, de quantitate et 10qualitate sub-
stantiae plebeium hospitem >11interrogat. Qui interrogatus,
Quinque, ait, tantummodo habeo 12vacculas; quse, si eas bene-
dixeris, in majus crescent. Quas illico, a Sancto jussus,
adduxit, 13similique modo, ut supra de Nesani quinis dictum
est 14vacculis, et hujus Columbani 15boculas quinales sequaliter
benedicens, inquit, Centenas et quinque, Deo donante, habebis
vaccas, et erit in filiis et nepotibus tuis florida benedictio.
Quse omnia, juxta 16beati viri prophetationem, in agris et
pecoribus ejus et prole, plenissime adimpleta sunt ; mirumque
4 requirit Boll.
5-7 om. A. sine rubrica, paragrapho, titulo, aut quavls distinctione, tenon
prcecedentium adhceret B. 6 ingenio B. nigeno in capitulat. p. 150 supra.
1 titul om. C. D. F. S. Boll. 2 om. D. 3 in add. B.
4 colmnba add. D. 6-6 Om. C. D. F. S. 7 hospitaret C.
8-9 om. C. D. F. S. 10 de add. D. " interrogavit D.
la vaccas D. w.14 ow. C. D. F. S. « buculas C. D. 1° sancti D.
166 VITA SANCTI COLUMB^). LIBER II.
in modum numerus a Sancto prsefinitus supra 17memoratis
ambobus 18viris, in centenario vaccarum et quinario expletus
numero, nullo modo superaddi potuit: nam ilia, quse supra
prasfinitum excedebant numerum, diversis prserepta casibus,
nusquam comparuerant, excepto eo quod aut in usus proprios
familise, aut 19etiam in opus eleemosynee, expendi poterat. In
hac itaque narratione, ut in ceteris, 20virtutis miraculum et
prophetia simul aperte ostenditur : nam in magna vaccarum
ampliatione benedictionis pariter et orationis virtus apparet, et
in prsefinitione numeri prophetalis praescientia.
intmtu rj
CAP. ~^OL IE venerandus 4 supra memoratum Columbanum, queni de
xxin. paupere virtus benedictionis 5ejus 6ditem fecit, valde dfligebat;
quia ei multa pietatis officia praebebat. Erat autem illo 7in
tempore quidam malefactor homo, bonorum persecutor, 8nomine
9Joan, films Conallis filii 10Domnallis, de regio nGabrani ortus
genere. Hie supradictum 12 Columbanum, sancti amicum
Columbse, persequebatur ; domumque ejus, omnibus in ea
inventis, devastaverat, ereptis, non semel, sed bis inimiciter
agens. Unde forte non immerito eidem maligno accidit viro,
ut tertia vice post ejusdem domus tertiam deprsedationem,
beatum virum, quern quasi longius 13positum dispexerat,
proprius appropinquantem, ad navem revertens prseda onustus
cum sociis, obvium haberet. Quern cum Sanctus de suis
corriperet malis, praedamque deponere rogans suaderet, ille,
immitis 14et 15 insuadibilis permanens, Sanctum dispexit,
navimque cum prasda ascendens, beatum virum subsannabat et
deridebat. Quern Sanctus ad mare 16 usque 17prosecutus est,
vitreasque intrans aquas usque ad genua aequoreas, levatis ad
ccelum 18ambis manibus, Christum intente precatur, qui suos
glorificantes se glorificat electos. 19Est vero ille portus, in
quo post egressum persecutoris stans paulisper Dominum
exorabat, in loco qui Scotice 20vocitatur 21 Ait-Chambas 22 Art-
17.18 memorato viro C. D. F. S. 19 om, C. <2° virtutibus C.
1 tiiul. om. C. D. F. S. Boll.
2-3 interitu iohannis filii couallis ea<leui die qua sanctum speruens dchono-
ravit B. 4 columba add. D. 5 om. B.
6 divitem C. D. 7 om. D. s-10 om. C. D. F. S.
9 iohannes B. 10 domnalli B. " om. G. D. F. S.
12 coin A. 13 om. C. D. F. S. H om. G.
15 insuadibiliter C. 1G om. D. 17 secutus D.
18 A. B. ambabus C. D. S. manu correctors F. 1J-22 om. C. D. F. S.
20 vocatur B. 2L~-'2 A. ad cambasi arcl muircoll B.
VITA SANCTI COLUMB^. LIBER II. 167
muirchol. 23 Turn 24proinde Sanctus, expleta oratione, ad
aridam reversus, in eminentiore cum comitibus 25 sedet loco : ad
quos ilia in hora formidabilia valde profert verba, dicens, Hie
26 miserabilis 27 humuncio, qui Christum in suis dispexit servis,
ad portum, a quo nuper coram vobis emigravit, nunquam
revertetur ; sed nee ad alias, quas appetit, terras, subita prse-
ventus morte, cum suis 28perveniet malis cooperatoribus.
Hodie. quam mox videbitis, de nube 29a borea 30 orta immitis
immissa procella 31eum cum sociis 32submerget; nee de eis
etiam unus 33remanebit 34 fabulator. Post aliquantum paucu-
larum ^ interventum morarum, die serenissima, et ecce de mari
36oborta, sicut Sanctus 37 dixerat, nubes, cum 38 magno fragore
venti emissa, raptorem cum prseda inter Maleam et 39 Colosum
40 insulas 41 inveniens, subito turbato 42 submersit 43 medio mari :
nee ex eis, juxta verbum Sancti, qui navi 44inerant 45 etiam unus
^evasit; mirumque in modum, toto circumquaque manente
tranquillo sequore, talis una rapaces ad inferna submersos pro-
stravit procella, misere quidem, sed digne.
Jferabarhxr 0ubita m.arte
quoque 4in tempore, vir sanctus,5 quendam de nobili CAP;
Pictorum genere exulem, 6Tarainum 7 nomine, in manum ali- XXIV
cujus 8Feradachi ditis viri, 9qui in 10Ilea insula nhabitabat,
diligenter assignans commendavit, ut in ejus comitatu, quasi
unus de amicis, per aliquot menses conversaretur. Quern cum
tali commendatione de sancti manu viri suscepisset commen-
datum, post paucos dies, dolose agens, crudeli eum jussione
trucidavit. Quod immane scelus cum Sancto a commeantibus
esset nunciatum, sic respondens profatus est, Non mini sed Deo
ille infelix homunculus mentitus est, 12 cujus nomen de libro
vitse delebitur. Haec verba 13 sesteo nunc mediante prolo-
23 tune D. 24 deinde C. D. 25 suis add. D. sedit B.
a6 miserabHiter C. 27 homo D. 28 superveniat D.
29 om. C. so ortam B 31 quge add, D.
32 emerget D. 33 remeabit C. 34 famulator D.
35 intervallum D. 3» aborta A. D. ' 37 prsedixerat B.
38 magna B. so ^. colosam B. D. colossum C.
40 insulam C. 41 veniens C. D. 42 mersit D.
43 in add. D. 44 eraut D. 45 vel C. 4C jam add. D.
1 titul. om. C. D. F. S. Boll.
2-3 alicujus feradachi morte, fraudulent? viri a sancto prsenunciata B.
4 om. D. 5 coiumba add. D. ^ om. C. D. F. S.
8 om. C. D. F. S. 9-u om. C. D. F. S. 10 ilia B.
12 ejus C. is aestivo B. C. D.
1 68 VITA SANCTI COLUMB.E. LIBER II.
quimur tempore, sed autumnal!, antequam de suilla 14 degustet
carne, 15arboreo saginata fructu, subita prseventus morte, ad
16infernalia rapietur loca. Haec sancti prophetia viri, cum
misello 17 nuntiaret homuncioni, despiciens irrisit Sanctum :
et post dies aliquot autumnalium mensium, eo jubente, 18 scrofa
nucum impinguata nucleis jugulatur, necdum aliis ejusdem viri
jugulatis suibus; de qua celeriter exinterata partem sibi in
veru celerius 19assari 20pr8ecipit, ut de ea impatiens 21homo
prsegustans, beati viri prophetationem destrueret. Qua vide
licet assata, dari sibi poposcit aliquam 22prsegustandam morsus
particulam; ad quam percipiendam extensam manum prius-
quam ad os converteret, expirans, mortuus retro in dorsum
cecidit. Et qui viderant, et qui audierant, valde tremefacti,
admirantes, Christum in sancto propheta honorificantes glori-
ficarunt.
X5^ alixr 2qtMrt)am tufatto
atjns nomm Ratine JEarat* JJextera
CAP. xxv. ,#H-LIO in tempore, vir beatus, cum alios ecclesiarum perse-
cutores, in 4Hinba commoratus insula, excommunicare coepisset,
filios videlicet Conallis filii Domnaill, quorum unus erat 5 loan,
de quo supra retulimus ; quidam ex eorundem malefactoribus
sociis, diaboli instinctu, cum hasta irruit, ut Sanctum inter-
ficeret. Quod prsecavens unus ex fratribus, 6Findluganus
nomine, mori paratus pro sancto viro, cuculla ejus indutus in-
tercessit. Sed mirum in modum beati viri tale vestimentum,
quasi qusedam munitissima et impenetrabilis lorica, quamlibet
fortis viri forti impulsione acutioris hastes, transfigi non potuit,
sed illsesum permansit; et qui eo indutus erat, intactus et
incolumis tali protectus est munimento. Ille vero sceleratus,
qui Manus Dextera, 7 retro repedavit, aestimans quod sanctum
hasta transfixisset virum. Post ex ea die completum annum,
cum Sanctus in loua commoraretur insula, Usque in hanc diem,
ait, integratus est annus, ex qua die Lam-dess, in quantum
potuit, Findluganum mea jugulavit vice ; sed et ipse, ut
sestimo, hac 8in hora jugulatur. Quod juxta Sancti revela-
tionem eodem momento in ilia insula factum est, quse Latine
14 gustet C. 15 arborum B. 16 inferna D.
17 nunciaretur C. D. 18 A. B. C. 19 praeparari Boll.
20 prsecepit C. 21 om. C. 22 prsegustandum A.
1 capit. totum om. C. D. F. S. titul om. Boll. 2-3 om. B.
4 himba B. » A. iohannes B. 6 A. tinducanus B.
7 dicebatur add. B. latine nominator wo jure Boll. 8 om. B.
VITA SANCTI COLUMB^E. LIBER II. 169
Longa vocitari potest: ubi ipse solus Lam-dess, in aliqua
virorum utrinque acta belligeratione, Cronani filii 9Baithani
jaculo transfixus, in nomine, ut fertur, sancti Columbee emisso,
interierat ; et post ejus interitum, belligerare viri cessarunt.
J5b alixr 2ittb*m hmoceniutm
vir beatus, adhuc juvenis diaconus, in parte Lagen- CAP.
ensium, divinam addiscens sapientiam, conversaretur, quadam xxvi.
accidit die ut 5homo quidam innocuorum immitis persecutor
crudelis, quandam in campi planitie filiolam fugientem perse-
queretur. Quse cum forte 6Gemmanum senem, supra memo-
rati 7juvenis diaconi magistrum, in campo legentem vidisset, ad
eum recto cursu, quanta valuit velocitate, confugit. Qui, tali
perturbatus subitatione, Columbam eminus legentem advocat,
ut ambo, in quantum valuissent, filiam a persequente defender-
ent. Qui statim superveniens, nulla eis ab eo data reverentia,
filiam sub vestimentis eorum lancea jugulavit; et relinquens
jacentem mortuam super pedes eorum, aversus abire coepit.
Senex 8tum, valde 9tristificatus, conversus ad 10Columbam,
Quanto, ait, sancte puer Columba, hoc scelus cum nostra de-
honoratione temporis spatio inultum fieri Judex Justus patietur
Deus ? Sanctus consequenter hanc in ipsum sceleratorem pro-
tulit sententiam, dicens, Eadem hora qua interfectse ab eo filise
anima 11ascendit ad ccelos, anima ipsius interfectoris 12descendat
ad inferos. Et dicto citius, cum verbo, sicut Ananias coram
Petro, sic et ille innocentium jugulator, coram oculis sancti
juvenis, in eadem 13mortuus 14cecidit 15terrula. Cujus rumor
subitae et formidabilis vindictse continuo per multas Scotise pro-
vincias, cum mira sancti diaconi fama, divulgatus est.
16 Hue usque de adversariorum terrificis ultionibus dixisse
sufficiat : nunc de bestiis aliqua narrabimus 17pauca.
9 baetani.
1 titul. om. C. D. F. S. ubi hoc capitulum iii. 4 subnectitur. 2 om. B.
3 qui in laginensium provincia sicut ananias coram petro eodem momento
a sancto terribiliter objurgatus cecidit mortuus add. B.
* dum F. 5 bono Q^ c A. B. D. F. germanum C.
7 juvenilis B. 8 time "D. 9 tristiticatnr C.
10 sanctum add. B. n ascendet manu recentiore D.
12 descendet C. descendit in descendet mutat. D. descendit F.
13 om. B. 14-15 est hora D. 1(U7 om. C. D. F. IS.
170
VITA SANCTI COLUMB^l. LIBER II.
XXVII
xrrati0n.em
CAP. 4,JPi_LIO 5in tempore, vir beatus, cum in 6Scia insula ali-
quantis demoraretur diebus, paulo longius solus, orationis
intuitu, separatus a fratribus, silvam ingressus densam, mirse
magnitudinis aprum, 7 quern forte venatici canes 8persequebantur,
9obviam habuit. 10Quo viso eminus, Sanctus aspiciens 11eum
12restitit. Turn deinde, invocato Dei nomine, 13sancta elevata
manu, cum intent a dicit ad eum oratione, Ulterius hue pro-
cedere unoles: 15in 16loco 17 ad quern nunc devenisti 18morere.
Quo Sancti in silvis personante verbo, non solum ultra accedere
non valuit, sed ante faciem ipsius terribilis ferus, verbi ejus
virtute mortificatus, cito corruit.
aquatili* btziix birtute oratixrnt0
CAP.
XXVIII.
bin
O quoque in5tempore, cum vir beatus 6in Pictorum pro-
vnca per aliquot moraretur dies, necesse habuit fluvium
transire 7Nesam : ad cujus cum accessisset ripam, alios ex accolis
aspicit misellum humantes 8homunculum; quern, ut 9ipsi sepul-
tores ferebant, qusedam paulo ante nantem aquatilis prseripiens
bestia 10morsu momordit ssevissimo : cujus miserum cadaver,
sero licet, quidam in alno subvenientes porrectis prseripuere
uncinis. Vir e contra 11beatus, hasc audiens, praecipit ut aliquis
12 ex comitibus enatans, 13caupallum, in altera stantem ripa, ad
se navigando reducat. Quo sancti audito prsedicabilis viri prse-
cepto, Lugneus 14Mocumin, nihil moratus, obsecundans, depositis
excepta vestimentis tunica, immittit se in aquas. Sed bellua,
quae prius non tarn satiata, quam in 15pr3edam accensa, in pro-
fundo fluminis latitabat, sentiens eo 16nante turbatam supra
i titul. om. C. D. F. S. Boll.
2-3 apri mortification e qui a saucto emitms cecidit signo prostratus
dominicse crucis B.
4 capitul. totuin ad lib. iii. c. 4 Iransfertur In C. D. F. S.
5 om. D. 6 A. D. sua B. sicia C. 7-8 om. B,
9 tune add. B. 10-12 om. D. n turn B.
13 om. D. 14 nolis C. 15-16 nisi D.
17 hoc add. B. quantotius add. B.
1 titul. om. G. D. F. S. Boll.
a-3 alia aquatili bestia qua eo orante et manum e contra levante retro
repulsa est ne lugiieo natanti vicino noceret B. 4-6 om. D.
6 columba add. D. 7 nessam B. 8 hominem D.
9 ipsius C. 10 raptu B. n sanctus S.
12 e C. 13 A. B. F. S. caupulum C. caballum D.
14 om. C. D. F. S. 15 preeda C. 10 uatante B.
VITA SANCTI COLUMB^E. LIBER II. l7l
aquam, subito emergens, natatilis ad hominem in medio natantem
alveo, cum ingenti fremitu, aperto 17cucurrit ore. 18Vir 19tum
beatus videns, omnibus qui inerant, tarn barbaris quam etiam
fratribus, nimio terrore 20perculsis, cum salutare, 21sancta
22elevata manu, in vacuo 23aere crucis pinxisset signum, invocato
Dei nomine, feroci imperavit bestise dicens, 24Noles ultra pro-
gredi, nee hominem tangas ; retro citius revertere. Turn 25vero
bestia, hac Sancti audita voce, retrorsum, ac si funibus retra-
heretur, velociori 26recursu fugit 27tremefacta : 28quse prius
Lugneo nanti eo usque ^appropinquavit, ut hominem inter et
bestiam non amplius esset quam unius contuli longitudo.
Fratres turn, 30recessisse videntes bestiam, Lugneumque com-
militonem ad eos intactum et incolumem in 3lnavicula reversum,
cum ingenti admiratione glorificaverunt Deum in beato viro.
Sed et gentiles barbari, qui ad prsesens 32 inerant, ejusdem mira-
culi magnitudine, 83quod et ipsi viderant, compulsi, Deum
magnificaverunt Christianorum.
Itujtx* in0ul# terrttla ne iteittcepa in t&
alktxt itoxemit3
die ejusdem 4aastei temporis quo ad 5Dominum CAP.
transiit, ad visitandos fratres Sanctus plaustro vectus pergit, xxix.
qui in campulo occidentali 6 louse insulas opus materiale exer-
cebant. Post quorum consolatoria a Sancto prolata alloquia, in
eminentiore stans loco, sic vaticinatur dicens, Ex hac, filioli, die,
scio quod in hujus campuli locis nunquam poteritis in futurum
videre faciem meam. Quos, hoc audito verbo, valde tristificatos
videns, consolari eos in quantum fieri possit conatus, ambas
manus elevat sanctas, et totam hanc nostram benedicens insu-
lam, ait, Ex hoc hujus horulse momento 7 omnium viperarum
venenanullo modo, in hujus insulae 8terrulis, aut hominibus aut
pecoribus nocere poterunt, quamdiu Christi mandata ejusdem
commorationis incolse observaverint.
17 occurrit C. 18-19 tune vir D. 20 percussis D.
21 devota C. 22 om. C. 23 et in add. C.
24 noli C. 25 om. G. 2G cursu C. D. ~7--8 retractione factaque B.
29 modo propinquavit D. 30 recessisset B.
31 naviculam B. 32 erant D. ^ qui B.
1 capitul. totum om. C. D. F. S. tituL om. Boll.
2-3 insule ione viperinis serpentibus qui ex qua die sanctus earn benedixit
nulli hominum iiec etiam pecoribus nocere potuere B.
4 aestivi B. 5 om. B. ° ione B.
7 omnia B. 8 terrula B.
172 VITA SANCTI COLUM1LE. LIBER II.
mm 'jSominuft anew 0ignaoii0 bmtbida.
CAP. xxx. JHLLIO 3in tempore, quidam frater 4 nomine Molua, Nepos
5Briuni, ad Sanctum eadem scribentem hora veniens, dicit ad
eum, Hoc quod in manu habeo ferrum, quaeso benedicas. Qui
paululum extensa manu 6sancta cum calamo signans benedixit,
ad librum de quo scribebat facie conversa. Quo videlicet supra-
dicto fratre cum ferro benedicto recedente, Sanctus percunctatur
dicens, Quod fratri ferrum benedixi? 7Diormitius, pius ejus
ministrator, Pugionem, ait, ad jugulandos tauros vel boves bene-
dixisti. Qui e contra respondens 8infit, Ferrum quod benedixi,
confido in Domino meo, 9quia nee homini nee pecori nocebit.
Quod Sancti firmissimum eadem hora comprobatum est verbum.
Nam idem frater, 10 vallum egressus monasterii, bovem jugulare
volens, tribus firmis vicibus, et forti impulsione conatus, nee
tamen 11potuit etiam ejus transfigere pellem. Quod monachi
scientes experti, ejusdem pugionis 12 ferrum, ignis resolutum
calore, per omnia monasterii ferramenta liquefactum diviserunt
illinitum ; nee postea ullam potuere carnem vulnerare, illius
Sancti 13manente benedictionis fortitudine.
1 |p£ ilixrrmitii
CAP. ^LLIO 2in tempore, 3Diormitius, Sancti pius 4minister, usque ad
xxxi. mortem segrotavit : ad quern, in extremis 5constitutum, Sanctus
6visitans accessit; Christique invocato nomine, infirmi ad 7lec-
tulum stans, et pro eo 8exorans, dixit, Exorabilis mihi fias precor,
Domine 9mi, et animam mei ministratoris pii de hujus carnis
habitaculo, me non auferas superstite. Et hoc dicto aliquan-
tisper conticuit. 10Tum proinde hanc de sacro ore profert
vocem dicens, Hie meus non solum hac vice nunc non morietur
puer, sed etiam post meum annis vivet multis obitum. Cujus
haec exoratio est exaudita : nam 11Diormitius, statim post Sancti
exaudibilem precem, plenam recuperavit salutem ; per multos
quoque annos post Sancti 12ad Dominum emigrationem super^
vixit.
1 titul. om. C. D. F.
2 capital, totum in i.
4-s om. C. D. F. S.
8 inquit D.
11 poterat D. S.
1 titul. om., cap. xv.
2 om. D.
5 om. D.
8 orans D.
11 diarmatus D.
S. Boll.
15 relegatur. C. D. F. S.
6 sua add. D.
9 quod C. 10
i* GOT. C.
continuatur C. D. F. S. Boll.
3 diarmatus D.
6 visitandum D.
9 am. D.
12 columbe arfc/. D.
3 om. D.
7 diarmatus D.
murum D. nullani S.
13 remanente D.
4 •ministrator C. D.
7 lectum S.
10 cum D.
VITA SANCTI COLUMB^E. LIBER II. 173
Jgb 2Jfinteni ftlii JUbxr in sxtrtmi* pxrsiti sanitate.
JEClJO quoque in tempore, Sanctus quum trans Britannicum CAP.
iter ageret Dorsum, quidam juvenis, unus comitum, subita XXXTT.
molestatus segrimonia, ad extrema usque perductus 3est, nomine
4Fintenus : pro quo commilitones Sanctum msesti rogitant ut
oraret. Qui statim, eis compatiens, sanctas cum intenta ora-
tione expandit ad coelum manus, 58egrotumque benedicens, ait,
Hie, pro quo interpellatis, juvenculus vita vivet longa ; et post
omnium 6 nostrum qui hie adsumus exitum superstes remanebit,
in bona moriturus senecta. Quod beati viri vaticinium plene
per omnia expletum est : nam idem juvenis, illius postea
monasterii fundator, quod dicitur 7Kailli-au-inde, in bona
senectute prsesentern terminavit vitam.
1 5* ptt*r0 qtiem mortmtm bit teraranbti* in Chrati Domini
nrrmine 0tt#dtatoit
3ELLO in tempore, quo sanctus Columba in Pictorum provin- CAP<
cia per aliquot demorabatur dies, quidam cum tota plebeius xxxm.
familia verbum vitse per interpretatorem sancto prsedicante viro,
audiens credidit, credensque baptizatus est, maritus cum marita
liberisque et familiaribus. Et post aliquantulum diecularum in-
tervallum paucarum unus filiorum patrisfamilias, gravi correp-
tus aegritudine, usque ad confinia mortis et vitse perductus est.
Quern cum magi morientem vidissent, parentibus cum magna
exprobratione coeperunt illudere, suosque, quasi fortiores, magni-
ficare deos, Christianorum vero, tanquam infirmiori, 2Deo dero-
gare. Quae omnia cum beato intimarentur viro, zelo suscitatus
Dei, ad domum cum suis comitibus amici pergit plebeii, ubi
parentes nuper defunctse prolis msestas 3celebrabant exequias.
Quos Sanctus valde tristificatos videns, confirmans dictis 4com-
pellat consolatoriis, ut nullo modo de divina 5omnipotentia
dubitarent. Consequenterque percunctatur, dicens, In quo
hospitiolo corpus defuncti jacet pueri ? Pater turn orbatus
Sanctum sub msestum 6deducit culmen, qui statim, omnem foris
exclusam relinquens catervam, solus msestificatum intrat habit-
aculum, ubi illico, flexis genibus, faciem ubertim lacrymis irri-
1 capitul. totum om. C. D. F. S. titul om. Boll.
3 om. B. 4 fentenus B.
6 nostrorura A. Colg. Boll, nrm B.
7 A. kailli anfind B. kailli, abinde Boll.
1 titul. om. C. D. F. S. Boll. 2 om. C.
4 compellavit D. f> potentia D.
2 fenteni B.
4 segroque B.
3 celebrant B. C.
0 deduxit D.
174 VITA SANCTI COLUMB.E. LIBER II.
gans, Christum precatur Dominum ; et post ingeniculationem
surgens, oculos convertit ad mortuum, dicens, In nomine Domini
Jesu Christi resuscitare, et sta super pedes tuos. Cum hac
Sancti honorabili voce anima ad corpus rediit, defunctusque
apertis revixit oculis, cujus manum tenens apostolicus homo
erexit, et in 7statione stabiliens, secum domum egressus 8dedu-
cit, et parentibus redivivum assignavit. Clamor turn populi
attollitur, 9plangor in 10 Isetationem convertitur, Deus Christian-
orum nglorificatur. Hoc noster Columba cum 12Elia et
13Eliseo prophetis 14habeat sibi commune virtutis miraculum ;
et cum Petro et Paulo et 15 Joanne apostolis partem honoris
similem in defunctorum resuscitatione ; et inter utrosque, hoc
est, prophetarum et apostolorum ccetus, honorificam coelestis
patrise sedem homo propheticus et apostolicus aeternalem cum
Christo, qui regnat cum Patre in unitate Spiritus Sancti per
omnia saecula 16s8eculorum17.
xrb anriU* 2xthniiontm inttxmzio, ti $w
libzx&twnt satmtxr.
CAP. [H^ODEM 3in tempore, vir venerandus quandam a Broichano
xxxiv. magO 4gco^cam postulavit servam humanitatis miseratione
liberandam : quam cum ille 5duro valde et 6stolido 7retentaret
8animo, 9Sanctus ad eum locutus, hoc 10profatur modo, Scito,
Broichane, scito quia si mihi hanc peregrinam nliberare 12cap- |
tivam nolueris, priusquam de hac 13revertar provincia, ucitius ;
morieris. Et hoc coram 15Brudeo rege dicens, domum egressus
regiam, ad Nesam venit fluvium, de quo videlicet fluvio lapidem
attollens candidum, ad comites, Signate, ait, hunc 16 candidum
lapidem, per quern Dominus in 17hoc gentili populo 18multas
segrotorum perficiet sanitates. Et hoc 19effatus verbum conse-
quenter intulit, inquiens, Nunc Broichanus 20fortiter concussus
est, nam angelus de ccelo missus, graviter ilium percutiens,
vitream in manu ejus, de qua bibebat, confregit in multa
21biberam fragmenta; ipsum vero anhelantem segra reliquit
7 stationem C. 8 deduxit D. 9 planctus B. D. 10 leetitiam B. C.
11 gloriticatus est D. 12 helia B. D. 13 heliseo B. helizeo D.
14 habet D. 15 iohanne B. 10 om. C. D. F. S. 17 amen add. B.
1 titul om. C. D. F. S. Boll. 2 retcntionis B. 3 om. D.
4 scotticam B. 6 latro B. ° fortiter B. 7 retardaret D.
8 om. B. 9 libertati dare interim, et manu reccntiori D.
10 profatus est D. ll libere A. D. 12 om. B.
13 revertaris F. H dimittere add. D. 15 bruideo A.
16 om. D. 17 om. D. 18 om. D.
1!) affatus D. 20 om,. D. '* om. C.
VITA SANCTI COLUMB,^. LIBER IT. 175
suspiria, morti vicinum. Hoc in loco paululum expectemus
binos regis nuncios, ad nos celeriter missos, ut Broichano mori-
enti citius subveniamus : nunc Broichanus, formidabiliter cor-
reptus, 22ancillulam liberare est paratus. Adhuc Sancto haec
loquente verba, ecce, sicut 23praedixit, duo a rege missi equites
adveniunt, 24omniaque quse in regis 25munitione de Broichano,
juxta Sancti vaticinium, sunt acta, enarrantes ; et de poculi con-
fractione, 26et de magi correptione, et de 27servulse parata abso-
lutione ; hocque intulerunt, dicentes, Eex et ejus familiares nos
ad te niiserunt, ut nutricio ejus 28 Broichano subvenias, mox
morituro. Quibus auditis legatorum verbis, Sanctus binos de
coinitum numero ad regem, cum lapide a se benedicto, mittit,
dicens, Si in primis promiserit se 29Broichanus famulam libera-
turum, turn deinde hie lapillus intingatur in aqua, et sic de eo
bibat, et continue salutem recuperabit : si vero renuerit 30refra-
gans absolvi servam, statim morietur. Duo missi, verbo Sancti
obsequentes, ad aulam 31deveniunt regiam, verba viri 32venera-
bilis regi enarrantes. Quibus 33intimatis regi et nutricio ejus
^Broichano, valde expaverunt : 35eademque horaliberata famula
sancti legatis viri assignatur, lapis in aqua intingitur, mirum-
que in modum, contra naturam, 36lithus in aquis supernatat,
quasi pomum, vel nux, nee potuit sancti benedictio viri sub-
mergi. De quo Broichanus natante bibens lapide, statim a
vicina rediit morte, integramque carnis recuperavit salutem.
Talis vero lapis, postea, in thesauris regis reconditus, multas
in populo segritudinum sanitates, similiter in aqua natans in-
tinctus, Domino miserante, effecit. Mirum 37dictu, ab his segro-
tis, quorum vitae terminus supervenerat, requisitus idem lapis
nullo modo reperiri poterat. Sic et in die obitus Brudei regis
qu^erebatur, nee tamen in eodem loco, ubi fuerat prius recondi
tus, inveniebatur.
toati bin ttnttra Iprxruhairom magttm xttx&Q&timiz, tt
btnti canhznttzit.
supra memorata peracta, quadam die 2 Broichanus 3ad
4sanctum proloquens 5virum 6infit, Dicito mihi, Columba, quo
22 ancillam C. D. 23 prsedixerat C. 24 omnia C. D.
25 motione C. D. notione inepte Messingliam.
26 de broichano juxta add. C. 27 servse D.
28 baichano B. brochano D. 29 brochanus D. 30 om. D.
31 devenerunt D. 32 venerabiliter C. 33 auditis B.
34 brochano D. 35 eadem C. 30 lapis C. litatus D. 37 que add. D.
1 tltul. om. C. D. F. S. Boll. 2 brochanus D. 3-4 om. D. 6-6 vir inquit D.
176 VITA SANCTI COLUMBJ3. LIBER II.
tempore proponis enavigare ? Sanctus, Tertia, ait, die, Deo
volente et vita comite, navigationem proponimus incipere.
6Broichanus e contra, Non poteris, ait ; nam ego ventum tibi
contrarium facere, caliginemque umbrosam superinducere pos
sum, Sanctus, Omnipotentia Dei, ait, omnium 7dominatur, in
cujus nomine nostri omnes motus, ipso gubernante, diriguntur.
Quid plura ? 8 Sanctus die eadem, sicut 9corde proposuit, ad
lacum 10Nesa3 fluminis longum, multa prosequente caterva,
venit. Magi vero gaudere turn coepere, magnam videntes super-
inductam caliginem, et contrarium cum tempestate flatum.
Nee mirum hsec interdum arte dsemonum posse fieri, Deo per-
mittente, ut etiam venti et sequora in asperius concitentur. Sic
enim aliquando deemoniorum legiones sancto Germano episcopo,
de Sinu Gallico, causa humanae salutis, ad Britanniam navi-
ganti, medio in sequore occurrerant, et opponentes pericula
procellas concitabant, ccelum ndiemque tenebrarum caligine
obducebant. Quse tamen omnia, sancto orante Germano, dicto
citius, sedata detersa cessarunt caligine. Noster itaque Columba,
videns contra se elementa concitari furentia, Christum 12invocat
Dominum, 13cymbulamque ascendens, nautis hsesitantibus, ipse
constantior factus velum contra ventum jubet subrigi. Quo
facto, omni inspectante turba, navigium flatus contra 14 ad versos
mira 15vectum occurrit velocitate. Et post haud grand e inter-
vallum venti contrarii ad itineris ministeria cum omnium
admiratione revertuntur. Et sic per totam illam diem flabris
lenibus 16secundis 17flantibus, beati cymba viri optatum 18per-
vecta ad portum 19pulsa est. Perpendat itaque lector quantus
et qualis idem vir venerandus, 20in quo Deus omnipotens, tali-
bus prsescriptis miraculorum virtutibus, coram plebe 21gentilica
illustre suum manifestavit nomen.
sttbita:
CAP. JfB-LIO 4in tempore, hoc est, in prima Sancti fatigatione itin-
xxxvi. eris ad regem Brudeum, casu contigit ut idem rex, fas'tu elatus
regio, suse munitionis, superbe agens, in primo beati adventii
viri, non aperiret portas. Quod ut cognovit homo Dei, cum
6 Broclianus D. 7 dominator D. 8 om. D.
9 om. C. 10 B. nisae A. C. F. in se D. n que add. C.
12 invocaverat D. 13 cimbalumqae D. 14 om. C.
15 factum B. 16 secundi C. ir ventis D.
18 perfecta B. provecta C. 19 appulsa B.
20 fuerit C. D. F. S. 21 gentili D.
1 titul. om. C. D. F. S. 2-3 om,. B. 4 om,. D.
VITA SANCTI COLUMBvE. LIBER II. 177
comitibus ad valvas portaram accedens, in primis Dominic
crucis imprimens signum, turn deinde manum pulsans contra
ostia ponit ; quee continue sponte, retro retrusis fortiter seris,
cum omni celeritate 5aperta 6sunt. Quibus statim apertis,
Sanctus consequenter cum 7sociis 8intrat. Quo cognito, rex
cum senatu valde pertimescens, domum egressus, obviam cum
veneratione beato pergit viro, pacificisque verbis blande sadmo-
dum compellat : et ex ea in posterum die sanctum et venera-
bilem virum idem regnator, suse omnibus vitse reliquis diebus,
valde magna honoravit, ut decuit, 10 honorificentia.
Jjri 3ribxrntm
itidem 4in tempore, vir beatus 5aliquantis in Scotia CAP;
diebus 6conversatus, ad visitandos fratres qui in monasterio
7Duum Ruris commanebant Bivulorum, ab eis invitatus, per-
rexit. Sed casu aliquo accidit ut eo 8ad ecclesiam accedente,
claves non reperirentur oratorii. Cum vero Sanctus 9de non
repertis adhuc clavibus et de obseratis foribus inter se conqui-
rentes alios audisset, ipse ad ostium appropinquans, Potens est
10Dominus, ait, 11 domum suam servis etiam sine clavibus aperire
suis. Cum hac turn voce subito retro retrusis forti motu pes-
sulis, sponte aperta janua, Sanctus cum omnium admiratione
ecclesiam ante omnes ingreditur, et hospitaliter a fratribus sus-
ceptus, honorabiliter ab omnibus 11veneratur.
menbkrr ad z&ntiws 0ti!bem
bentbixit
in tempore quidam ad Sanctum 4plebeius venit CAP.
pauperrimus, qui in ea habitabat regione quse Stagni litoribus xxxvm.
5Aporici 6est contermina. Huic ergo miserabili viro, qui unde
maritam et parvulos cibaret non habebat, vir beatus petenti,
miseratus, ut potuit, quandam largitus eleemosynam, ait, Miselle
humuncio, tolle de silva contulum vicina, et ad me 7oeyus defer.
5-6 deposuit D. 7 suis add. C. 8 intravit C.
8 ad don) urn D. 10 reverentia D.
1 titul. om. C. D. F. S. Boll. 2 om. B. 3 rivulorum B.
4 om. D. 5 columba add. D. 6 versatus C.
7 divini C. 8 om. S. 9 columba add. D.
10 deus D. n veneratus est D.
1 titul. om. C. D. F. S. Boll. 2-3 quodam D. 4 columbam add. D.
5 aporicie D. 6 om. D. 7 citius C. D.
M
178
VITA SANCTI COLUMB/E. LIBER II.
Obsecundans miser, juxta Sancti jussionem, detulit materiam ;
quam Sanctus excipiens in veru exacuit; quodque propria
exacuminans manu, 8benedicens, 9et illi assignans 10inopi dixit,
Hoc veru diligenter custodi, quod, ut credo, nee homini, nee
alicui pecori, nocere poterit, exceptis feris bestiis quoque et
piscibus ; et quamdiu talem habueris sudem, nunquam in domo
tua cervinoa carnis cibatio abundans deerit. Quod audiens
miser nmendiculus, valde gavisus, domum revertitur, veruque
in remotis iniixit 12terrulae locis, quae silvestres frequentabant
ferse ; et vicina transacta nocte, mane primo 13pergit re visit are
volens veru, in quo mirse magnitudinis cervum cecidisse reperit
utransfixum. Quid plura ? Nulla, ut nobis traditum est, transire
poterat dies, qua non aut cervum, aut cervam, aut aliquam re-
periret in veru infixo cecidisse bestiam. Eepleta quoque tota
de ferinis carnibus domo, vicinis superflua vendebat, quse hos-
pitium suae domus capere non poterat. Sed tamen diaboli
invidia per sociam, ut Adam, et hunc etiam miserum invenit ;
quse, non quasi prudens, sed fatua, taliter ad maritum locuta
est, Tolle de terra veru ; nam si in eo homines, aut etiam pecora,
perierint, tu 15ipse et ego cum nostris liberis aut occidemur aut
captivi ducemur. Ad haec maritus inquit, Non ita 16fiet ; nam
sanctus vir mini, benedicens sudem, dixit, quod nunquam homi-
nibus aut etiam pecoribus nocebit. Post hsec verba mendicus,
uxori consentiens, pergit, et 17tollens de terra veru, intra domum,
quasi 18amens, illud secus parietem posuit ; in quo mox domes-
ticus ejus incidens canis disperiit. Quo pereunte, rursum marita,
Unus, ait, filiorum tuorum incidet in sudem et peribit. Quo
audito ejus verbo, maritus veru de pariete removens ad silvam
reportat, et in densioribus infixit dumis, ut putabat ubi a nullo
posset animante offendi. 18Sed postera re versus die capream in
eo cecidisse et periisse 19 reperit. Inde quoque illud removens,
in 20fluvio qui Latine dici potest Nigra 21Dea, juxta ripam sub
aquis abscondens infixit : quod alia revisitans die, esocem in eo
mirse magnitudinis transfixum et retentum invenit ; quern de
flumine elevans vix solus ad domum portare poterat, veruque
secum de aqua simul reportans, extrinsecus in superiore tecti
affixit loco; in quo et corvus 22devolatus, impetu lapsus dis
periit jugulatus. Quo facto, miser, fatuee conjugis consilio
depravatus, veru tollens de tecto, assumpta securi, in plures
8 atque add. ~D.
11 mendicus B.
14 transmission C.
17 tollit C.
20 fluvium B.
9 om. D.
12 terra C.
15 et add. 0.
18 amans B. C. D.
21 cleca D.
10 que add. P.
13 perrexit D.
16 fiat D.
™-w om. Boll.
22 de volatus C. devolutus F. Boll.
VITA SANCTI COLUMB.E. LIBER II. 179
concidens particulas, 23in ignem projecit. 24Et post, quasi suse
paupertatis amisso non mediocri solatio, remendicare, ut meritus,
coepit. Quod videlicet penurise rerum solamen ssepe superius in
veru memorato dependebat, quod pro pedicis, et retibus, et omni
venationis et piscationis genere servatum posset sufficere, beati
viri donatum benedictione, quodque amissum miser plebeius,
eo ditatus pro tempore, ipse cum tota familiola, sero licet, omni
bus de cetero deplanxit reliquis diebus 25vitse.
l*§z lariaticr tttre xjmm salaria atatwlit ttttba zi fo-enilia ileram
repr#0*nta:bit in ynaxe loco.
in tempore, beati legatus viri, Lugaidus nomine, 2cogno- CAP.
mento 3Laitirus, ad Scotiam jussus navigare proponens, inter xxxix.
navalia navis Sancti instrumenta utrem lactarium qusesitum
inveniens, sub mari, congestis super eum non parvis lapidibus,
madefaciendum posuit ; veniensque ad Sanctum quod de utre
fecit intimavit. Qui subridens inquit, Uter, quern ut dicis sub
undis posuisti, hac vice ut sestimo non te ad 4Hiberniam comi-
tabitur. Cur, ait, non mecum in navi comitem eum habere
potero? Sanctus, Altera, inquit, die quod res probabit scies.
Itaque Lugaidus mane postera die ad retrahendum de mari
utrem pergit ; quern tamen salacia noctu subtraxit unda. Quo
non reperto, ad Sanctum reversus tristis, flexis 5in 6terram
genibus, suam confessus est negligentiam. Cui Sanctus, ilium
consolatus, ait, Noli frater pro fragilibus contristari rebus : uter
quern salacia sustulit 7unda, ad suum locum, post tuum egres-
sum, reportabit 8venilia. Eadem die post Lugaidi de 9Ioua
insula emigrationem, hora transacta nona, Sanctus circum-
stantibus sic profatus, ait, Nunc ex vobis unus ad sequor
pergat; utrem, de quo Lugaidus querebatur, et quern salacia
10sustulerat unda, mine venilia retrahens, in loco unde sub-
tractus est nrepr8esentavit. Quo Sancti audito verbo, quidam
alacer juvenis ad oram cucurrit maris, repertumque utrem, sicut
prsedixerat Sanctus, cursu reversus concito reportans, valde
gavisus, coram Sancto, cum omnium qui ibidem 12inerant
admiratione, assignavit. In his, ut ssepe dictum est, binis
narrationibus superius descriptis, quamlibet in parvis rebus,
23 comminuit et add. D.
24'25 et ipse post modum iterum factus est pauper sicut prius et usque acl
diem mortis sue cum tota familia sudem lugebant I).
1 titul. om. C. F. S. Boll, omnia usque ad quos enim deus in cap. 42
inferius desunt in D. 2-3 om. C. F. 8. 4 everniam A.
5-6 om. B. 7 om. C. 8 venalia C.
!) A. C. F. S. iona B. 10 sustulerit F. » reprwsentabit F. 12 erant C.
180 VITA SANCTI COLUMB^:. LIBER II.
sude videlicet et litre, 13prophetia sinml et virtutis miraculum
comitari cernuntur. 14Nunc ad alia 15tendamus.
l^z ffijibran* 23tmttbineti prqphetatitf mndi torn.
CAP XL JpstLIO ID tempore, cum vir sanctus in 3Ioua conversaretur
insula, homo quidam plebeius nuper sumpto clericatus habitu,
de Scotia transnavigans, ad insulanum beati monasterium viri
devenit. Quern cum alia die Sanctus in hospitio 4residem hos-
pitantem invenisset solum, primum de patria, de gente, et causa
itineris, a Sancto interrogatus ; de 5Connachtarum regione ori-
undum se professus est ; et ad delenda in peregrinatione pecca-
mina longo fatigatum itinere. Cui cum Sanctus, ut de suse
pcenitudinis exploraret qualitate, dura et laboriosa ante oculos
monasterialia proposuisset imperia ; ipse consequenter ad Sanc
tum respondens, inquit, Paratus sum ad omnia quaecunque mihi
jubere volueris, quamlibet durissima, quamlibet indigna. Quid
plura ? Eadem hora omnia sua confessus peccata, leges pceni-
tentiae, flexis in terrain genibus, se impleturum promisit. Cui
Sanctus, Surge, ait, 6et reside. Turn deinde residentem sic
compellat, Septennem debebis in Ethica pcenitentiam explere
terra. Ego et tu usquequo numerum expleas septennalium
annorum, Deo Donante, victuri sumus. Quibus Sancti con-
fortatus dictis, grates Deo agens, ad Sanctum, Quid me, ait,
agere oportet de quodam meo falso juramento ? nam ego
quendam in patria commanens trucidavi homuncionem; post
cujus trucidationem, quasi reus in vinculis retentus sum. Sed
mihi quidam 7cognationalis homo ejusdem parentelae, valde
opibus opulentus, subveniens, me opportune et de vinculis
vinculatum absolvit, et de morte reum eripuit. Cui post abso-
lutionem cum firma juratione promiseram me eidem omnibus
mese diebus vitse serviturum. Sed post aliquot dies in servitute
peractos, servire homini dedignatus, et Deo potius obsecundare
malens, desertor illius carnalis domini, juramentum infringens,
8discessi, et ad te, Domino meum prosperante iter, perveni. Ad
haec Sanctus, virum pro talibus valde angi videns, sicuti prius
prophetans, profatur, inquiens, Post septenorum, sicut tibi dic
tum est, expletionem annorum, diebus ad me hue, 9quadragesi-
malibus venies, ut in Paschali solemnitate ad altarium accedas,
13 prophetic* C. 14-15 om. B.
1 capitul. totum om. C. D. F. S. titul. om. Boll. 2 harundineti A. B.
3 iona B. 4 residenti B. 5 conactarum B.
6 interim. B. 7 cognition alis A. 8 decessi A.
9 qnadragensimalibus A.
VITA SANCTI COLUMB^E. LIBER II. 181
et Eucharistiam sumas. Quid verbis immoramur ? Sancti viri
imperils per omnia pcenitens obsequitur peregrinus. 10Iisdemque
diebus ad monasterium Campi missus u Lunge, ibidem plene
expletis in pcenitentia septem annis, ad Sanctum, diebus quadra-
gesimse, juxta ejus priorem propheticam jussionem, revertitur.
Et post peractam Paschse solemnitatem, in qua jussus ad altare
accessit, ad Sanctum de supra interrogans memorato venit jura-
mento. Cui Sanctus interroganti talia vaticinans responsa pro-
fatur, Tuus de quo mini aliquando dixeras, carnalis superest
dominus ; paterque et mater et fratres adhuc vivunt. Nunc
ergo prseparare te debes ad navigationem. Et inter hsec verba
macheram belluinis ornatam dolatis protulit dentibus, dicens,
Hoc accipe tecum portandum munus, quod domino pro tua
redemptione offeres; sed tamen nullo modo accipiet. Habet
enim bene moratam 12conjugem, cujus salubri obtemperans con-
silio, te eadem die gratis, sine pretio, libertate donabit, cingulum
ex more captivi de tuis resolvens lumbis. Sed hac anxietate
solutus, aliam a latere surgentem non effugies sollicitudinem :
nam tui fratres undique 13coarctabunt te, ut tanto tempore
patri debitam, sed neglectani, redintegres pietatem. Tu tamen,
sine ulla hsesitatione voluntati eorum obsecundans, patrem
14senem pie excipias confovendum. Quod onus, quamlibet tibi
videatur grave, contristari non debes, quia mox depones : nam
ex qua die incipies patri ministrare, alia in fine ejusdem septi-
manse mortuum sepelies. Sed post patris sepultionem, iterum
fratres te acriter compellent, ut matri etiam debita pietatis im-
pendas obsequia. De qua profecto compulsione tuus junior te
absolvet frater ; qui tua vice paratus omne pietatis opus, quod
debes, pro te matri serviens reddet. Post hsec verba supra
memoratus frater, Libranus nomine, accepto munere, Sancti
ditatus benedictione perrexit ; et ad patriam perveniens, omnia,
secundum Sancti vaticinium, invenit vere probata. Nam statim,
ut pretium suse offerens libertatis ostendit domino, accipere
volenti refragans uxor, Ut quid nobis, ait, hoc accipere quod
sanctus pretium misit Columba ? Hoc non sumus digni.
Liberetur ei pius hie gratis ministrator. Magis nobis sancti
viri benedictio proficiet, quam hoc quod 15offertur pretium.
Audiens itaque maritus hoc maritse salubre consilium, continuo
gratis liberavit servum. Qui post, juxta prophetiam Sancti,
compulsus a fratribus, patrem, cui ministrare ccepit, septima
die mortuum sepelivit. Quo sepulto, ut et matri debite deser-
viret compellitur. Sed subveniente juniore fratre, sicut Sanctus
10 hisdemque A. B. n longe B. 12 cojugem A.
13 coartabant B. 14 tuum add. B. 15 offert Colg. Boll.
1 82 VITA SANCTI COLUMB.E. LIBElt II.
praedixerat, vicem ejus adimplente, 16absolvitur. Qui ad fratres
sic dicebat, Nullo modo nos 17oportet fratrem in patria retentare,
18 qui per septem annos apud sanctum Columbam in 19 Britannia
salutem exercuit animae. Post quae, ab omnibus quibus moles-
.tabatur, absolutus, matri et fratribus valedicens, liber reversus,
ad locum qui Scotice vocitatur 20Daire 21Calgaich pervenit.
Ibidemque navim sub velo a portu emigrantem inveniens,
clamitans de litore rogitat, ut ipsum nautae cum eis susciperent
navigaturum 22ad 23Britanniam. Sed ipsi non suscipientes
refutaverunt eum, quia non 24erant de monachis sancti
Columbae. Turn deinde ad eundem venerabilem loquens virum,
quamlibet longe absentem, tamen spiritu prsesentem, ut mox
res probavit, Placetne tibi, ait, sancte Columba, ut hi nautae,
qui me tuum non suscipiunt socium, plenis velis et secundis
enavigent ventis ? In hac voce ventus, qui ante illis erat
secundus, dicto citius versus est contrarius. Inter haec videntes
virum eundem e regione secus flumen cursitantem, subito inter
se inito consilio, ad ipsum de navi inclamitantes dicunt nautici,
Fortassis idcirco citius in contrarium nobis conversus est
ventus 25quia te suscipere renuerimus. Quod si etiam nunc te
ad nos in navim invitaverimus, contraries nunc nobis flatus in
secundos convertere poteris ? His auditis, viator ad eos dixit,
Sanctus Columba, ad quern vado, et cui hue usque per septem
annos obsecundavi, si me susceperitis, prosperum, vobis ventum
a Domino suo, virtute orationum, impetrare potent. Quibus
auditis, navim terrae approximant, ipsumque ad eos in earn
invitant. Qui statim, rate ascensa, In nomine Omnipotentis,
ait, cui sanctus Columba inculpabiliter servit, tensis rudentibus
levate velum. Quo facto, continue contraria venti flamina in
secunda vertuntur, prosperaque usque ad 26Britanniam plenis
successit navigatio velis. Libranusque, postquam ad loca per-
ventum est 27Britannica, illam deserens navim, et nautis bene-
dicens, ad sanctum devenit Columbam in 28Ioua commorantem
insula. Qui videlicet vir beatus, gaudenter suscipiens eum,
omnia quae de eo in itinere acta sunt, nullo alio intimante, plene
narravit, et de domino, et uxoris ejus salubri consilio, quomodo
ejusdem suasu liberatus est; de fratribus quoque; de morte
patris, et ejus, finita septimana, sepultione ; de matre, et de fratris
opportuna junioris subventione ; de his quae in 29regressu acta
16 sed junior add. B. 17 om. B. 18 oportet add. B.
19 brittannia A. B.
20 claire Colg. Boll, liter a d, quce in cod. A.formam el prce sefert, minus
observata. 21 B. calcig A. calig male Colg. Boll.
22 in B. 23 brittanniam A. B. 24 A. B. erat Boll. 25 quod B.
20 brittanniam A. B. 27 brittannica A. B. 2S ioua B. 29 ingrcssu B,
VITA SANCTI COLUMB^E. LIBEll II. 183
sunt ; de vento contrario, et secundo ; de verbis nautarum qui
primo eum suscipere recusarunt, de promissione prosper! flatus ;
et de prospera, eo suscepto in navi, venti conversione. Quid
plura ? Omnia, quae Sanctus adimplenda prophetavit, expleta
enarravit. Post haec verba viator pretium suse quod a Sancto
30accepit redemptionis assignavit. Cui Sanctus eadem hora
vocabulum indidit, inquiens, Tu Libranus vocaberis eo quod sis
liber. Qui videlicet 31Libran 32iisdem in diebus votum mon-
achicum devotus vovit. Et cum a sancto viro ad monasterium,
in quo prius septem annis poanitens Domino servivit, remittere-
tur, hsdc ab eo ^prophetica de se prolata 34accepit verba
35valedicente, Vita vives longa, et in bona senectute vitam
terminabis prsesentem. Attamen non in 36 Britannia, sed in
Scotia, resurges. Quod verbum audiens, flexis genibus, amare
fievit. Quem Sanctus valde msestum videns, consolari crepit
dicens, Surge, et noles tristificari. In uno meorum morieris
monasteriorum, et cum electis erit pars tua meis in regno
monachis ; cum quibus in resurrectionem vitse de somno mortis
evigilabis. 37 Qui, a Sancto accepta non mediocri consolatione,
valde leetatus 38est, et Sancti benedictione ditatus, in pace
perrexit. Quse Sancti de eodem viro verax postea est adim-
pleta prophetatio. Nam cum per multos annales cyclos in
inonasterio Campi 89 Lunge post sancti Columbse de mundo
transitum, obedienter Domino deserviret, 40monachus, pro
quadam monasteriali utilitate ad Scotiam missus, valde senex,
statim ut de navi descendit, pergens per Campum Breg, ad
monasterium devenit Eoborei Campi; ibidemque, hospes re-
ceptus hospitio, quadam molestatus infirmitate, septima
segrotationis die in pace ad Dominum perrexit, et inter sancti
Columbse electos humatus est monachos, secundum ejus vati-
cinium, in vitam resurrecturus seternam. Has de Librano
41Arundineti sancti veridicas Columbse vaticinationes scripsisse
sufficiat. Qui videlicet Libranus ideo 41Arundineti est
42vocitatus, quia in 43arundineto multis annis 44arundines
colligendo laboraverat.
30 B. accipit A.
33 valedicens add. Boll.
3(5 brittannia A. B.
39 lugne male Colg. Boll.
42 vocatus B.
31 A. libranus B.
34 B. accipit A.
37 qua B.
40 monachis B.
43 harundineto A. B.
32 liisdein A. B.
35 om. Boll.
38 om. B.
41 harundineti A. B.
44 harundiiies A. B.
184 VITA SANCTI COLUMB^. LIBER II.
15^ xjuabam trndierotht mannas zt 2fcalbe Mfffctlior.e£ parturi-
iianiz, nt (£:b$ #Ua, tortioue*
CAP. XLI. TTADAM die, Sanctus in 3Ioua 4commanens insula, a
lectione 5surgit, et subridens dicit, Nunc ad 6oratorium mihi
properandum, ut pro quadam misellula 7Dominum deprecer
femina, quaa nunc in 8Hibernia nomen hujus inclamitans
commemorat Columbse, in magnis parturitionis difncillimse
9torta punitionibus, et ideo per me a Domino de angustia
absolutionem dari sibi sperat, quia et mihi est 10cognationalis;
de mese matris parentela genitorem habens progenitum. Hsec
dicens Sanctus, illius mulierculas motus miseratione, ad
ecclesiam currit, flexisque genibus pro ea Christum de nomine
natum exorat. Et post precationem oratorium egressus, ad
fratres profatur occurrentes, inquiens, Nunc propitius Dominus
lesus, de muliere progenitus, opportune miserae subveniens,
earn de angustiis liberavit, et prospere prolem peperit ; nee hac
morietur vice. Eadem hora, sicuti Sanctus prophetizavit,
misella femina, nomen ejus invocans, absoluta salutem recup-
eravit. Ita ab aliquibus postea de Scotia, et de eadem regione
ubi mulier inhabitabat, transmeantibus, intimatum est.
conjnx olbia habuerat b^fxrrmem ; xjui in ^rhr^a rxrmmxrra-
batur
CAP. XLII. ^LIO in tempore, cum vir sanctus in Eechrea hospitaretur
insula, quidam plebeius ad eum veniens, de sua querebatur
uxore, quas, ut ipse dicebat, 4odio habens, eum ad 5maritalem
nullo rnodo admittebat concubitum accedere. Quibus auditis,
Sanctus, maritam advocans, in quantum potuit, earn hac de
causa corripere coepit, inquiens, Quare, mulier, tuam a te carnem
abdicare conaris, Domino dicente, Erunt duo in carne una ?
itaque caro tui conjugis tua caro est. Quaa respondens, Omnia,
inquit, qusecunque mihi prseceperis, sum parata, quamlibet sint
valde laboriosa, adimplere, excepto uno, ut me nullo compellas
modo in uno lecto dormire cum Lugneo. Omnem domus
1 titul om. C. D. F. S. Boll. 2 om. B. 3 A. C. F. S. iona B.
4 commorans C. 5 surgens C. c orationem C.
7 deum C. 8 B. C. F. S. evernia A. 9 om. F.
10 C. F. S. cognitionalis A. B.
1 capitul. totum om. C. F. S. titul. om. Boll. 2 A. gubernatore B.
3 t